The Heat of the Moment
by xbleeple
Summary: Sharon and Andy meet in a bar in late 1985. Andy's heading down the road of becoming an alcoholic and Sharon doesn't have as many walls. [Shandy, with some Sharon/Jack]
1. Chapter 1

This is an idea that's been lingering in my mind since the Christmas episode where Emily and Ricky come to visit. Please let me know your thoughts!

* * *

Sharon leans over the bar, a mass of auburn curls falling over her shoulder as she smiles at the bartender. He steps closer to her, picking up a glass in anticipation of her order, raising his eyebrow in inquiry.

"Vodka, cranberry, lime?" Sharon asks. He nods and quickly assembles her drink, setting the red beverage on the bar in front of her. He holds up three fingers to her and Sharon twists her body to reach into her purse, looking up as a hand reaches out, handing over a five dollar bill to the bartender.

"I've got it," The owner of the hand says. Sharon stops her search in her bag and looks up into dark chocolate eyes as she grabs her drink.

"Thanks for the drink," Sharon says, "You are…"

"Andy Flynn, Robbery Homicide," Andy says, offering his hand out. Sharon smiles and takes his hand in hers.

"I've heard your name before. Sharon Raydor, Vice," Sharon introduces herself, "You come here often?"

"Yeah, we usually stop off for after work drinks couple times a week. I haven't seen you here before," Andy comments, grabbing a scotch off the bar top and sliding another five across the wood, "You're not new."

"No, not new," Sharon shakes her head with a smile, "I just finally let my partner talk me into drinks after work."

"Raydor…Raydor…" Andy says, wracking his brain, "You're not 'Rulebook' Raydor partnered up with O'Malley are you?"

"The one and only," Sharon says, her smile getting a little tighter, "Unfortunately I don't have a _cute_ nickname to refer to you by. Just a reputation that precedes you."

"I hit a sore spot?" Andy grins.

"Maybe a little bit," Sharon says as she takes a drink.

"He likes you…old grump might not show it, but he likes you. Says you have chops."

"Thanks," Sharon nods, blushing slightly. Andy points to the table behind him where a few other officers were gathered, talking.

"Want to join us?" Andy offers.

"Uh…sure," Sharon nods, "That'd be nice."

"Come on," Andy says, leading her over to the table. He introduces her to the small group before pointing out the different officers to her as well.

"Hi," Sharon says taking another drink as she takes a seat next to Andy. She listens quietly as they talk about a few of their cases before switching to football. Her eyebrow arches imperceptibly as they talk before draining her drink and setting down her glass.

"Whitehurst is a crap quarterback, that's why they keep losing," Sharon pipes up during a lull in the conversation. She watches as most of the eyes in the group turn to her, "He's thrown an interception almost every game this season, the record is 4-11 and next week isn't looking up. The problem isn't the defensive line it's him."

"You watch football?" Andy asks. Sharon nods, looking up and nodding again as the waitress asks if she wants another drink.

"Yeah, my father and I used to watch games together a lot when I was a kid. It just stuck," Sharon shares with a sheepish smile. She twirls the melting ice in her glass nervously to busy her hands, "I think the Packers have chops, but they got screwed on the quarterback position with Dickey being out. Besides who doesn't like cheese?"

"The Jets did work them over pretty good a few weeks ago," Andy grins. Sharon rolls her eyes and thanks the waitress as she sets the drink down, handing her empty glass over.

"Let me guess, born and bred Jets fan?"

"Oh fuck no," Andy shakes his head furiously, "Giants all the way."

Sharon laughs and smiles at Andy's face that he makes, resuming her silent observation of the group. Slowly as the night progresses the group drops off, eventually leaving Andy and Sharon alone. Andy drains his third drink since Sharon had joined him and sets the glass down on the table before standing up, holding his hand out to Sharon. She looks up at him and arches her eyebrow.

"Come on, let's dance," Andy says, nodding towards the sparsely populated dance floor.

"I'm married, Andy." Sharon responds, not wanting to seem like she had been leading him on.

"So am I. Two friends can't dance to a little Sinatra?" Andy says, leaning in a little more and re-offering his hand. Sharon looks at him and studies him for a moment before finishing her drink and taking his hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor. He puts his hand on her waist at a respectable height and takes her hand in his, starting to dance her across the floor with practiced feet. Sharon smiles as she rests her hand on his shoulder, looking up at him.

"You're a pretty good dancer," She comments.

"St. Mary's Catholic School in Brooklyn still taught ballroom dancing when I was a kid," Andy smiles.

"You're Catholic?" Sharon asks, her eyebrows raising in surprise.

"I'm half Irish half Italian, what do you think?" Andy laughs, "You?"

"Mmm," Sharon nods, "Third generation Irish off the boat from the County Cork."

"No shit? My dad's family was from Cork."

"Small world," Sharon smiles, laughing as he twirls her around. A few songs later they had stepped closer to each other, both inhibited by the alcohol coursing through their systems. Sharon was never a heavy drinker, but Andy could throw them back. Her arms were looped around his neck as they swayed back and forth to a slow jazz number, his hands resting on her waist.

"You know, you're nothing like what I was picturing in my head from O'Malley."

"What were you picturing?" Sharon asks as she looks up at Andy, her emerald eyes sparkling with a grin.

"Much more uptight," Andy comments, "But you are definitely not…"

"No," Sharon shakes her head, the grin dropping from her face as she drops her head to Andy's shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. Andy tips her chin up a moment later, looking down at her. Brown eyes search green before he leans down and presses his lips to hers. Sharon pauses for a moment before starting to kiss him back, her hand curling in his shirt as her eyes slip closed. After a beat her hand clutches tighter before she pushes him away and steps back, "No."

"Sharon I…"

"No," Sharon shakes her head and lets Andy go before rushing off in the direction of the bathroom. Andy stands in the middle of the dance floor for a moment before moving after her. He hesitates outside the door to the bathroom for just a moment before pushing in. Sharon looks up from the sink, her eyes widening as she sees Andy in the mirror, "Andy!"

Andy doesn't say anything as he turns her around and presses his lips to hers again. Sharon fights for a moment, halfheartedly trying to push him away before giving into his mouth. He reaches out and flips the lock on the door to the small room, maneuvering Sharon against the wall. He lifts her up as he steps in between her legs, the long limbs wrapping around his waist. She moans into his mouth and tangles her hands into his hair, arching against him.

Andy's hands sip under her dress and up her thighs. His calloused palms smooth over the soft skin, drawing a whimper out of Sharon. Her legs tighten around him as she tears her mouth away from his, her chest heaving as she pants, looking up at him with dark eyes. He presses his lips to her jaw as his fingers travel up her legs again before slipping into her underwear. Sharon lets out a breathy moan when his fingers travel over her, drawing the wetness out of her core.

His fingertips tease over her center as his mouth moves over her jaw and neck. Sharon tugs at his jeans roughly, unbuckling his belt. She employs both hands to unbutton his fly and pull his zipper down, one hand slipping inside to wrap around him. Andy groans and arches into her touch, reaching down to pull her hands away and pin them against the wall above her head. He captures her lips in a hungry kiss and moves her underwear to the side, thrusting teasingly against her.

Sharon bites at his bottom lip and arches against him, a moan in her mouth. Andy groans back at her as he slowly slides into her depths. Her toes curl inside her shoes as she tightens her legs around him, pulling him close. The two of them move rough and fast against each other, neither of them taking long to reach their release. Sharon's head flings back and smacks against the cement wall, a loud cry tearing out of her throat as she cums. Andy growls, his jaw clenching as he buries himself into her, succumbing to her pulsing and tugging muscles.

They both lean against each other, the only sound in the room their soft panting breaths. Andy opens his mouth to speak, interrupted by someone pounding on the door.

"Hey, open up! There's a line out here!" Sharon hastily pushes Andy away at the intrusion, finally coming to her senses. She straightens her dress quickly before wrenching the lock and the door open in one swift movement, escaping down the hallway and out of the bar. She quickly hails a cab and rattles off her address, not looking back as Andy sprints out of the bar, calling after her.

Sharon sniffles and wipes at her eyes as she starts to cry, looking out the window as the lights of LA pass by before the cab stops in front of her apartment building. She thanks him and hands over the last of her cash for the evening before getting out and heading inside. She lets out a sigh of relief when she opens the door to the apartment and finds it dark. Her keys and purse get discarded on the table next to the front door, and she kicks off her heels before padding into the kitchen. She grabs the tea kettle off of the stove and puts enough water in it for a cup before putting it on to heat.

One of her arms wraps around her middle as she chews on the thumb nail of the other's hand, staring into space as she waits for the water. She jumps when she feels a pair of arms slide around her waist and she's pulled into a solid chest. Jack presses a sleepy kiss to his wife's neck and yawns as he hugs her tight.

"You just getting home?"

"Yeah, I stopped for a couple drinks with people after work. I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I was gonna wait up for you but I dozed off."

"Sorry, I should have called."

"You coming to bed?"

"Mmm…I'm just going to make some tea and take a quick shower. Go back to bed, I'll be in soon."

"Okay," Jack murmurs as he presses another kiss to her neck before letting her go and padding back to bed. Sharon pours the water into a mug and adds a tea bag before carrying the cup into the bathroom with her. She shuts the door and turns the water on, cranking the handle for the hot. She grabs a couple towels from underneath the sink and undresses, discarding her clothes into the laundry before stepping under the scalding spray. She furiously cleans her body, washing her hair a few times before staring listlessly at the wall as the water pours over her back.

"Shit."

* * *

[TBC]


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** I'm glad to see such great reception to this idea! Thank you for the reviews, keep them coming!

* * *

Sharon had managed to avoid going by the Robbery/Homicide squad room at all costs after her run in with Andy. The number of hours she'd spent at church on her knees asking for forgiveness since their tryst rivaled the total amount of hours she'd spent in church in her life. She would never tell Jack. She favored honesty in their relationship and she felt confident that he wouldn't hold a lapse in judgement against her but his jealous streak knew no bounds and last thing she needed was him showing up at work ready to bash Andy Flynn's face in.

Yet, Sharon wasn't thinking about Andy or Jack at this particular moment. She was sitting on the edge of the tub in their small apartment's bathroom, staring at the contraption on the counter. After Jack had left for work earlier in the morning she'd called into work, telling her CO that she hadn't been feeling well and wouldn't be in for the day. She'd walked down to the pharmacy on the corner armed with cash before returning home with her purchases and holing up in the bathroom.

She'd spent the better part of the last two hours alternating between which thumb nail she was biting on or bouncing her legs up and down as she threw glances at her watch every few minutes. With one last glance of her watch she realized her time was finally up. She takes a deep breath and smoothes her hands over the top of her jeans before pushing herself up and stepping over to the counter. She twists her wedding ring back and forth before gathering the courage to look down.

Sharon takes a moment to process what she's looking at, leaping up slightly as a wide smile spreads over her face. She pumps her fist and claps as she laughs.

"Yes!" Sharon exclaims to the empty room. She takes a moment to stare at the test on the counter as her hand travels over her stomach, "Oh my god…"

Sharon spends most of the day practically dancing around the apartment in excitement, waiting for Jack to get home. She jumps off the couch when she hears his key in the lock, meeting him at the door and taking his briefcase from him as she presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Hi."

"Hey, what are you doing home? I thought you had to work a double today," Jack says as he kisses his wife properly.

"I called in this morning after you left. I didn't feel well," Sharon says as she sets his bag down, letting him drape his suit jacket over the back of the couch before he sits down to unlace his shoes.

"You don't feel good? Why didn't you say something? I could have worked from home."

"It's okay," Sharon waves him off and smiles at him, "I'm feeling better now."

"Certainly seems like it," Jack smiles as he sits back up, holding his hands out to her and pulling her close. Sharon nods as she steps in between his legs, running her fingers through his hair. At the gesture her mind immediately flashed back to the bathroom at the bar, the feel of coarse hair under her fingertips. Jack's hair was so soft compared to Andy's. Sharon shakes the thought away and braces her hands on his shoulders, smiling down at him, "Anything in particular that put you in such a good mood?"

"I'm pregnant," Sharon says, her smile turning into a goofy grin. Jack's mouth opens and closes a few times before he speaks.

"You're..."

"Pregnant!" Sharon exclaims, having to stop herself from bouncing again, "We're finally having a baby!"

"I...wow..." Jack says, his face reflecting surprise as he looks up at his wife, "A baby huh?"

"A baby," Sharon repeats, "I took a test this morning, I have an appointment next week to really confirm, but...we're having a baby."

"That's great," Jack says standing and wrapping his arms around Sharon, rocking her back and forth.

"You're happy?" Sharon asks as she leans her head back to look Jack in the eye, stroking her fingertips gently over his cheek.

"Ecstatic," Jack assures her with a smile, "Bout time."

Sharon laughs and nods, kissing him gently before hugging him close again.

"We should celebrate," Jack says as he steps back.

"What did you have in mind?" Sharon asks, arching her eyebrow in suspicion, "We can hardly pop open a bottle of champagne."

"Let's go out for dinner. We can splurge a little," Jack says.

"Jack," Sharon says, a small amount of exasperation seeping into her tone, "We're trying to save money. So we can get out of this apartment, so I can go back to school."

"One dinner isn't going to upset all that," Jack says, pulling her down the hallway towards their bedroom, "I promise."

"When was the last time you sat down and balanced the checkbook?" Sharon teases him with a playful smile before pulling away from him, "Okay, okay. One celebratory dinner."

"Perfect," Jack smiles. Sharon opens their closet and sorts through her side before pulling out a long sleeve black dress. The hem was short and the back dipped low, she knew that it was one of Jack's favorites. She gets changed and runs a brush through her hair, pinning her curls back from her face before digging out a pair of her least scuffed black heels and pulling them on. Jack puts his suit coat back on and straightens his tie before holding his hand out to Sharon, "Ready?"

"Ready," Sharon says, throwing him an excited smile before they leave the apartment. They soon find themselves at one of LA's finer eating establishments, not finding it terribly difficult to get a table on a Wednesday evening. They're quickly seated at a table for two on the edge of the dining room, putting in their drink orders. Sharon casts her eyes around the room, taking in the decor before her eyes land on a familiar pair of brown ones. Of all the places. Her eyebrows raise slightly as Andy raises his hand in a small wave. She fights the urge to frown at him, offering a small wave back.

"Who are you waving at?" Jack says, moving to turn around.

"No one, just someone I recognized from work," Sharon assures him with a smile, directing his attention back to her, "What looks good?"

"Besides you?" Jack grins as he opens his menu.

* * *

Sharon hadn't seen Andy since their brief glance at each other across the restaurant. She'd even geared herself up to go talk to him a few weeks later but was surprised when his crass partner, Provenza or something, told her that he was out on leave. After that she'd let any plans of ever talking to Andy again go.

Apparently he had no such ideas. Sharon looks up from the textbook she had balanced on the panel of the treadmill when she sees a pair of forearms cross over the top of it, arching her eyebrow as she sees Andy standing in front of her dressed in a pair of sweats, beads of sweat dotting his forehead and making his greying hair darken.

"You know you don't have to keep reading after you pass the Detective Exam right?" Andy says, a playful grin on his lips.

"But I do have to keep reading if I have any plans of getting into law school," Sharon replies, turning down the speed of the treadmill to a fast walk.

"Law school, huh?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, "I want to enroll next fall, but I've been reading Jack's old textbooks in the mean time."

"Where'd you go to college?"

"Yale," Sharon says, shutting the book as he starts pawing through the pages, "Majored in History and Philosophy with a minor in Poly-Sci."

"No wonder they call you Rulebook," Andy grins.

"What did you major in to become a hothead?" Sharon fires back, a playful grin making it's way onto her face.

"I took a few classes as the community college before I started here," Andy shrugs, still smiling, "I know it's hard for you to imagine but organized education is hardly my strong suit."

"Imagine that," Sharon laughs.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Andy says, nodding towards her stomach that was mostly hidden by the baggy LAPD t-shirt she had been working out in.

"Ah, yeah," Sharon nods with a soft smile, "Seventeen weeks."

"First one?"

"Mmhm."

"It's terrifying," Andy says, "But also the best feeling in the world. My wife and I just had our first a couple months ago. Haven't managed to break her yet."

"Congratulations," Sharon smiles.

"Thanks," Andy says with a nod before lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck, "Look I...I wanted to apologize for what happened a couple months ago...I shouldn't have..."

"Let's just forget about it," Sharon says, not wanting him to continue talking, "It was a lapse in judgement for the both of us and we should just leave it in the past."

"Okay," Andy nods, "Consider it forgotten."

"Thanks," Sharon smiles. Andy steps back from the treadmill, pointing behind himself, "I'm gonna hit the shower. See you around, Rulebook?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods with a smile, increasing the pace of the treadmill again and opening her book to where she'd left off.

* * *

[TBC]


	3. Chapter 3

A couple days after their conversation, the tension between the two lessened considerably and Sharon had come to work to find a small stuffed Yale Bulldog on her desk with a baby blue and pink bow stuck on his head. She tucked it away next to her pen cup with a smile on her face before going to make herself a cup of tea for the morning. Before she left later that evening she'd put the bow on Andy's desk with a hand written thank you note, managing to slip in and out of Robbery/Homicide unnoticed. The bow and a note made its way back and forth from Vice to Robbery/Homicide a few times before it had been sabotaged by a rogue breeze and picked up by a cleaning person.

By the time she was in her sixth month Sharon had been relegated to desk duty, spending most of her days going through paperwork and case backlogs. Occasionally she was lucky enough to get to interview a suspect, but still spent most days hunched over her desk, scribbling away at reports. But being on desk duty did have it's perks, she got to take regular breaks. Which is why she found herself scurrying her way towards the door before lunch time, intent on breaking free from the Parker Center to procure lunch from her favorite deli. The cravings that had cropped up over the last few weeks had left the usual cafeteria fare unsatisfying.

"Rulebook!"

"Crap," Sharon grumbles, pausing when she hears Andy yell out. Her partner had retired the month before and he was the only other person that dared to call her that out loud. She hitches her purse over her shoulder and turns around, her eyes widening when she sees a very flustered Andy Flynn rushing towards her with a baby in his arms.

"Hey, are you busy?"

"I was just going out. Who is this?" Sharon says as the brown eyed little girl grins at her before letting out a large sneeze, "Oh, bless you."

"This is Nicole, I had to bring her in with me this morning because she has a doctors appointment later and my wife couldn't get off. But I have a problem."

"A problem," Sharon says as she takes the bib that was hanging under Nicole's chin and wipes her nose for her.

"Patrol just brought in this guy for my case, and I need to interview him. But..."

"You need someone to watch Nicole."

"Would you mind?" Andy asks, his matching brown eyes becoming much more puppy like as he stares down at her, "It'd be for half an hour at the most. She just ate. So she should be pretty good. I just really need to talk to this person. I'll even get you lunch."

Sharon takes a deep breath and partially glares at Andy before looking into Nicole's wide brown eyes and nodding, "Okay, hand her over."

"Thank you," Andy says, letting out a breath before handing Nicole over. Sharon sits Nicole up in her arms and bounces her slightly with a smile as she follows Andy back to Robbery/Homicide. She takes a seat at Andy's desk and sighs as she leans back in the chair, "Half hour. I'll be back."

"Go, we'll be fine," Sharon assures him, waving him off.

"Her bag is under the desk," Andy says before he grabs a couple folders off his desk and heads off towards the interview rooms. Sharon sighs as she looks down at Nicole, brown eyes meeting green as Nicole stuffs her hand in her mouth before letting out another sneeze.

"Let me guess, that's why you're going to the doctor," Sharon says as she wipes the baby's nose again, tossing the tissue in the trash. Nicole grins around her fingers, leaning back into Sharon's arms and getting comfortable. Sharon sighs as she looks around the room, watching the hustle and bustle of officers mulling around, "Thirty officers in this room, and your father doesn't trust any of them to watch you."

Sharon manages to keep Nicole occupied for the next half hour before Andy comes back, sighing as he drops the folders back on his desk. He reaches down to take Nicole from Sharon, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Get what you needed?" Sharon asks.

"Yeah, thanks again," Andy says as he bounces Nicole, letting her chew on his finger, "She wasn't too much trouble?"

"For half an hour?" Sharon says, arching her eyebrow as she pushes herself up, "No, she was great. She have a cold?"

"Yeah, and she's been teething something fierce," Andy sighs and shakes his head, "Vick wants the doctor to look her over, but her boss wouldn't let her off today and she can't go to daycare with a fever. So I've been sitting on the desk all day, and then patrol comes in and say they picked up this kid I've been looking for for like 3 days..."

"It's okay, most of my days are sitting at a desk now," Sharon smiles, grabbing her purse off of the ground, "I'm going to go get lunch. Let me know if you need a hand again when you guys get back, I'm just doing some filing today."

"Let me get you lunch," Andy says.

"Can I take a rain check? I'm sure you guys need to get going," Sharon asks. Andy looks at his watch and groans before nodding.

"Yeah, we're going to be late as it is. Thanks again, Sharon," Andy says as he grabs Nicole's bag before pressing a quick informal kiss to Sharon's cheek as he breezes out of the room. Sharon's eyes widen and she glances around the room, hoping no one noticed before she puts her purse on her shoulder and resumes her original errand of procuring lunch.

Later in the afternoon, she discards her salad bowl into her trash can and reaches across her desk for a highlighter her fingers flipping around in the cup for a moment before she grabs the right item. She looks up as she hears a gurgle and a chocolate cupcake gets set on her desk. Both Andy and Nicole smile at her and the little girl squeals and buries her face in her father's chest.

"She seems to be feeling better."

"They basically gave her some Motrin," Andy shrugs, "Said she should be feeling better in a couple days, but her fever will probably be gone by tomorrow."

"That's good," Sharon smiles.

"Anyway, cupcake. Bakery right next to the doctor's office. They're really good, consider it a thank you for minding her for a little bit. But I still owe you lunch."

"Thank you, it looks delicious," Sharon smiles, picking up the confectionary treat before starting to pull the wrapper off, noticing a small swipe of frosting missing, "Did someone take a sample?"

"Nic might have made a grab for it before I could get it out of her reach," Andy says sheepishly.

"So that's the reason for her good mood," Sharon smiles as she finishes unwrapping the cake, tossing the wrapper into the trash. She takes another swipe of the frosting and offers it up to the baby, laughing as her mouth immediately wraps around her finger and sucks off the sugary treat. She pulls her hand back and grins up at Andy as she pulls off the top of the cupcake and takes a bite.

"You're a bad influence."

"I am not," Sharon shakes her head with a grin as she swallows. She finishes the cupcake in another couple bites before wiping off her fingers, "Thank you for that. It was really good."

"No problem," Andy smiles, "Thanks again. I should get back."

"Right," Sharon nods.

"Say bye to Sharon, Nic," Andy says as he grabs Nicole's arm making her wave. Nicole giggles and grins at Sharon before the two of them turn tail and make their way back to Andy's part of the station.

Sharon sighs when she gets home later that night, kicking her shoes off in the entry way of the apartment before rubbing her hand over her belly as she pads into the kitchen. Jack looks up from the papers splayed out in front of him across the kitchen table.

"Hey, how was work?" He asks, setting his pen down and leaning back in the chair.

"Fine, nothing too exciting," Sharon says as she opens one of the Chinese take out counters on the counter, taking a whiff before getting a plate out and dumping some out. She opens another box and pours some rice out before putting it in the microwave. She pulls her shirt out from being tucked in her pants and sighs as she slips her hand underneath, scratching her fingers softly over her dry skin, "I faxed in the paperwork to USC Financial Aid before I left for the day."

"Shar…I don't know that we're going to be able to do this right away. I mean with the baby…"

"And I said I wanted to see what they said," Sharon says as she turns around to face Jack, leaning against the counter, "My LSAT scores are only good through next school year or I'll have to sit for the test again. If I can get a good enough scholarship we can make this work. I'll give up the idea of a house in the next few years. Between what we have in savings, what you're making, and what we could scrimp together over the next few months…we could make it work."

"I make $30,000 a year. Tuition is ten. How much is daycare going to be? We'll be down your salary from the force," Jack tries to reason.

"We had a deal, Jack!" Sharon snaps as the microwave dings. She pulls out her plate and sighs as she braces herself against the counter, "We had a deal. And I want to see what they say before we spend anymore time arguing about this."

"Okay," Jack gives up as she grabs a fork out of the drawer before sitting across the table from him. She grabs a few pieces of paper as she eats, reading them over quietly.

"Lawrence v Sharpe is your precedent for this case," Sharon says as she hands the paper back. She finishes cleaning her plate before putting it in the dishwasher and heading down the hall, "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late."

* * *

[TBC]


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:** Glad people are enjoying this story! Please continue reading and reviewing :)

* * *

Sharon sighs as she drops her head back against the concrete, her eyes closing as the sun warms her face. She doesn't open her eyes until a shadow looms over her, cracking one eye open before sitting up again when she notices Andy standing in front of her.

"Hi," She says, shielding her eyes as she looks up at him.

"Hey," Andy says, taking a seat next to her, "I was just coming back from lunch and noticed you sitting here. Looked a little…off."

"Yeah," Sharon shrugs, folding up the papers sitting in her lap, "I sent my paperwork in a few weeks ago for financial aid at USC Law. I figured with the baby coming in a couple months…it'd be a good time to finally go to school."

"What'd they say?"

"They don't have any merit money left," Sharon sighs, "And Jack and I can't afford the tuition right now. I will have to sit for the LSAT again, and try again next year or something…"

"Oh, that sucks," Andy comments.

"Yeah, yeah it does."

"I'd offer to take you out for a drink, but…" He gestures towards her belly. Sharon laughs and shakes her head.

"That's okay, but thank you," Sharon replies, "I just needed to get out of there for a little bit."

"Look at the silver lining," Andy says. Sharon arches her eyebrow as she looks over at him, "Worst case scenario you never go to law school. But you're still a damn good cop. You've accomplished a lot in the last few years. So you've got a bright future ahead of you, no matter what."

"Thanks, Andy."

"No problem, Rulebook," Andy says, standing up from the bench before straightening his tie, "I've got to head back in. Don't mope too hard."

"I'll try," Sharon says, watching him walk into the building before sighing and dropping her head back, closing her eyes once again.

Sharon and Andy managed to miss each other the majority of the time as the rest of the summer wore on between their schedules flipping and Andy getting suspended a couple times. It was August before Andy made a conscious effort to go down to Vice to see Sharon, not realizing the amount of time that had passed.

"Hey, where's Raydor at?" Andy asks as someone passes by him, surprised at how impeccably clean and empty her desk seemed.

"She had her baby a few days ago. She's on leave until end of next month."

"Oh," Andy nods, "Thanks."

Andy waited a few days before pulling her address information, something he was sure would get him chewed out. He left work a little early and stopped by a small flower shop on the way to her apartment building. He made his way up to the right floor and walked down the hallway, only hesitating when he lifted his hand to knock on the door. He shakes his head and sighs, tapping his knuckles softly against the door.

Sharon pushes herself up from the couch when she hears the door, casting her eyes to the baby who was fast asleep in her bassinet. She shuffles quietly to the door and presses herself up on her toes to check the peephole before flipping the lock and opening the door.

"Andy, hi."

"Hey, I hope I'm not disturbing you," Andy says, "I stopped down at Vice and they said you had the baby. I hadn't seen you in a while so I thought I'd pop by and say congratulations."

"Thank you," Sharon says as she takes the offered flowers, smelling them before offering Andy a curious look, "How did you get my address?"

"Work," Andy shrugs, not going into specifics. Sharon's eyes narrow briefly before she opens the door a little wider.

"Would you like to meet her?"

"I don't want to impose…"

"You're not," Sharon shakes her head, stepping back into the apartment, "I've been alone all day, I could use a little stimulation."

"Jack back at work?" Andy asks as he steps inside, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Yeah," Sharon nods, leading him into the living room, "He took a couple days off. But there's not much for him to do, and after about a day home together I was ready to murder him so…My parents are coming to visit next week though."

"That'll be nice," Andy says. Sharon sets the flowers down on the coffee table, before leaning down and lifting the baby up from the bassinet. She was dressed in a long sleeve pink and white polka dot onsie, wrapped in a hand knit yellow blanket. Her head was coated in a fluff of light brown hair and her tiny rosebud mouth was lazily suckling as she slept.

"This is Emily Eileen Raydor," Sharon introduces, holding her out to Andy to hold. Andy takes the bundle and expertly cradles her in his arm, bouncing her gently.

"She's beautiful. She's tiny too, how big was she?"

"Just shy of seven pounds," Sharon comments, a loving smile on her face as she strokes her hand over the top of her daughter's head.

"Healthy?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods, looking up from Emily's face to Andy, "Ten fingers, ten toes, lungs that could break a wine glass."

"Good," Andy smiles, looking back down at Emily, "She looks a little like Nicole did, but I'm sure they all look the same when they're this young."

"Probably," Sharon laughs, "How is Nicole?"

"She's good. She's huge now...almost nine months old. We just found out she's going to be a big sister a few days ago."

"Really? Congratulations," Sharon says, surprise evident in her eyes.

"Thanks, we were pretty shocked too. Still are," Andy laughs nervously, "I mean we always said we wanted them close together but..."

"This is pretty close together," Sharon says.

"Yeah," Andy nods. Emily's nose wrinkles as her eyes open exposing their deep dark blue, looking up at Andy with a less than impressed look. Andy chuckles slightly, "She's already got the look down."

"Hush," Sharon says, taking Emily back from Andy and pressing a soft kiss to her head as she snuggles her close, "She gives Jack the same look. Very skeptical baby."

"She has good reason to be. She just got evicted," Andy jokes. Sharon steps back slightly as she hears the apartment door open and close, smiling at Jack as he comes in and discards his work things by the kitchen.

"Hey honey," Sharon greets, pressing a kiss to his lips as he comes over, "Jack, this is Andy Flynn. We work together, he's a detective in Robbery/Homicide. He heard that Emily had finally decided to show up, so he came by to say congratulations after work."

"Andy?" Jack confirms before offering his hand, shaking Andy's larger one firmly, "Nice to meet you, Jack Raydor. It's nice of you to come by. I haven't had the chance to meet too many of the people Sharon works with."

"Her old partner, O'Malley, mentioned her to me a few times. Spoke very highly of her. So after he retired...figured I'd keep her entertained while she was riding the desk," Andy smiles, letting go of Jack's hand as Sharon rolls her eyes slightly, "Quite the beauty you have there."

"She's pretty great, takes after her mother," Jack says as he looks down at Emily, who was curled into her mother's chest.

"I should get going," Andy says, making a show of looking at his watch, "I didn't tell Vicky I was stopping off, and I don't want to worry her."

"Thanks for coming by, Andy," Sharon says with a smile. She hands Emily over to Jack before walking him to the door, "I really do appreciate it, and the flowers are beautiful."

"You did a pretty good job with her. You'll be beating the guys off in a few years."

"Let's just focus on keeping her alive for the time being," Sharon smiles. Andy leans down and presses a kiss to her cheek.

"Don't be a stranger, Rulebook," Andy says before disappearing down the hall. Sharon shuts the door behind him before going back to the living room rolling her eyes when she sees how Jack is holding the baby.

"She's not going to break, Jack," Sharon tells him as she takes the baby, easily wrapping her up in her arms, "Are you, my sweet angel?"

"He works with you?" Jack asks as he loosens his tie, undoing the top couple buttons of his shirt.

"Yeah," Sharon nods as she sits down with Emily, getting ready to feed her.

"Seems like a nice guy."

"He is," Sharon agrees as she shifts her hold on her daughter, helping her latch on, "How was your day?"

"Fine, we've been really busy lately," Jack gripes as he sinks down on the opposite couch and puts his feet up on the coffee table, "What sounds good for dinner?"

"There's that casserole in the freezer, if you want to throw it in the oven. The fridge is practically empty," Sharon says as she settles in.

"I can leave you the car tomorrow if you want to go to the store," Jack offers as he leans forward to grab the newspaper.

"Jack! I'm not going to take our six day old baby to the grocery store. I can make you a list and you can go tonight or tomorrow on your way home," Sharon scolds, her voice exasperated.

"I'm not going tonight, I work…" Jack trails off at Sharon's glare, "I'll go tomorrow. And it would be great if you wouldn't mind making a list."

"I can do that," Sharon nods before looking down at Emily, swiping a dribble of milk from the corner of her mouth.

Later in the evening Sharon makes Jack a grocery list as he sits with Emily. She hangs it up on the fridge and cleans up their dishes from dinner before padding back into the living room just as Emily starts to fuss. She leans in the doorway and watches as Jack frowns and shifts his hold on the little girl, bringing her to his shoulder.

"Oh what's got you all fussed up?" Jack asks as he rubs her back. Emily lets out a loud cry, her tiny hands clenching up. Sharon walks over and runs her hand over Emily's head, looking at her watch.

"She's probably hungry again," Sharon says, reaching down to take the baby, shushing her as she kisses her cheek, "I'm going to get her fed, and then we're going to go to bed okay?"

"You sure you don't want to stay up for Letterman?" Jack asks as he sits up a little more, handing Emily's blanket to Sharon. She shakes her head as she tosses the blanket over her shoulder, her hand rubbing along Emily's back.

"I'm exhausted," Sharon says, reaching out to squeeze Jack's shoulder, "Maybe tomorrow night, hmm?"

"Sure," Jack nods, smiling and reaching up to cover her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "Yell if you need anything."

"I will, don't stay up too late," Sharon says, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips before carrying the fussy Emily down the hall to their bedroom, "Come on baby girl, time for bed for the two of us."

* * *

[TBC]


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** Thanks to everyone who has been reading and replying to this fic, I'm glad you are enjoying it. This chapter is a bit of a summary chapter, but confirms some of your suspicions. Enjoy!

* * *

Sharon was completely fascinated watching Emily grow, amazed at how much her daughter had changed in a few short months. Yet, a knot grew in Sharon's stomach and every thought of uncertainty pushed to the back of her mind rushed forward as she watched the little girl's features change. The light fluffy brown hair she'd been born with had quickly darkened to an almost black shade of brown, darker than either her or Jack's hair had ever been. And the deep, inquisitive blue had turned to a golden brown with barely hazel centers.

Jack didn't seem concerned with their daughter's looks. Of course he didn't have all of the information she did. Sharon had just about had a meltdown the first time everything had finally fit together for her, rocking Emily to sleep as her daughter fought against the Sandman with every power in her tiny body. The hair, the eyes, the temper her daughter had a tendency to exude; there was no way that Emily was a Raydor, she was a Flynn through and through.

After tucking Emily in bed that night Sharon had retreated to the shower, sinking into the corner and sobbing under the warm spray. How could she have made such a mistake? How could she call it a mistake when it had given her the best thing in her life? And Emily wouldn't be Emily if she was someone else's daughter, right? Leaving the shower after it ran cold, Sharon bundled herself in a pair of sweats and took a seat on the bed next to Emily's cradle, stroking her fine dark hair as she watched her sleep. There was no reason Jack needed to know, right?

By the time, Emily was eight months old Jack was spending three nights out of five after work out and about, galavanting with god knows who. He usually came home pretty tipsy and climbed into bed next to her. As long as he didn't wake the baby, Sharon generally didn't mind. On occasion he would get a little handsy, murmur slightly slurred sweet nothings in her ear. She'd roll him over and tell him she'd had a long day at work before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.

Sharon felt lost as she watched both Andy and Jack descend into the world of bars and alcohol. Andy was frequently hung over at work, one beer lunches turning into two scotch lunches. She'd caught snippets of phone arguments on occasion that she could only assume he was having with Vicky. They didn't talk much anymore, just glances at each other in the hallway, no more friendly conversations or lunches. Jack had mentioned meeting him at the bar a few times and she had the fleeting thought that they were only dragging each other down.

Yet for all of their problems that had cropped up they'd finally managed to move into a small house in Van Nuys soon after Emily's first birthday. It gave them enough room that Emily could have a small bedroom to herself and move out of their bedroom. They also had a guest room that Jack could use for an office. It needed a little bit of elbow grease and love, but they were happy with their decision and the road that lay ahead.

It wasn't until close to Emily's second birthday that handsy turned into demanding. She'd been giving Emily a bath, the radio she'd taken into the bathroom with them playing Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl. She was singing along with the music, occasionally tickling the little girl as she played with her bath toys.

"Cause you my brown eyed girl," Sharon sings as she blows a quick raspberry on Emily's neck. The little girl squeals and laughs, trying to turn away from her mother. They both hear the front door close and Jack thumping up the stairs and Emily looks at Sharon with wide eyes as she processes the sound.

"Oh, dada!"

"Dada is home," Sharon smiles, filling a cup with water to rinse Emily off before reaching out to pull the plug on the tub. She hears the bathroom door open and smiles as Emily grins up at her father, reaching up to grab her towel.

"Dada!"

"Let me get her out of the tub real quick," Sharon says as she tries to grab Emily in the towel, "Emily…"

"No!" Emily giggles as she wiggles away. Sharon hums and arches her brow as she feels Jack's hands on her backside.

"Good day at work?" Sharon asks, twitching her hips to shake his hands off as they try to travel underneath the waistband of her pants, "Jack…"

"What?" Jack mumbles and Sharon's hangs her head slightly when she hears his tone.

"Let me finish Emily's bath," Sharon says again, managing to get Emily wrapped up in her towel. She shifts her weight to stand with Emily, grunting as she looses her balance slightly, his hands traveling under her shirt, "Jack."

"Whattt?" Jack says again, his hands wandering.

"I'm trying to get our daughter out of the tub," Sharon says, trying to stand up again and running into his chest as she does, "Jack! Please! Just go wait in the bedroom. She's almost ready for bed."

"Fine," Jack growls, finally backing off and retreating to their bedroom. Sharon sighs and gets up, holding a bundled up Emily to her chest.

"Come on, let's go get some jammies on," Sharon prompts, carrying Emily to her room. She gets her dried off, drying off her wavy brown hair before dressing her in a pair of Cinderella princess pajamas. She gets out a story book and gathers Emily into her arms as she sinks into the rocking chair, starting to read. She reads Emily the book as they rock before tucking the sleeping toddler into her crib.

Sharon turns on the nightlight in the corner of Emily's room and turns off the overhead light before pulling the door shut behind her. She makes her way to the bathroom, quickly picking up the mess from Emily's bath and turning off the radio and the light. She finishes her trip down the hallway to her and Jack's room, leaving the door open a crack as she had taken to doing since they had moved into the house. It made it easier to hear Emily in the middle of the night since she was no longer sharing a room with them.

Jack was sitting on the end of the bed, already undressed from his day at work with hooded eyes as he looks up at her. Sharon sighs when she picks his clothes up off of the ground, separating them between what needed to go in the wash and go to the dry cleaners.

"Don't _ever_ grab me like that in front of my daughter," Sharon says as she stands in front of Jack with her hands on her hips.

"Come on, Sharon...she's two."

"I don't care how old she is. Don't," Sharon seethes.

"You're my wife," Jack fights back, "I can grab you however I want."

"I'm your wife, not your property," Sharon bites back with force, "You don't get to come home drunk and manhandle me like some cheap whore!"

"That's all you bitch about lately, drinking drinking drinking."

"Because you come home drunk practically every night. You spend most of your weekends hungover. You barely spend time with Emily. I don't even remember the last time we even went out and had a nice dinner."

"Someone has to pay the bills around here."

"Yes _someone_ does," Sharon says, "I bring in more money than I spend, Jack. I can't say the same for you. Since we bought this house we've barely been able to put anything away. We said we were going to fix the place up, we always planned on more kids, and I _still_ haven't been able to get back into school."

"What am I supposed to do?" Jack says, holding his hands up in a questioning position, "Huh?!"

"Stop going out every night, spend time with your family. I can't do anything to get out of the force until I know that I can trust you to be home with Emily. I've given up on assuming that you're going to be home on time, if anything it's more of a surprise when you are," Sharon says, feeling defeated, "I don't know what's going on with you...I don't know if there's something bothering you or what. All I know is you'd rather go out after work then come home and see us."

"Sharon...that's not it."

"Then what is it!?" Sharon asks, exasperated, "You used to enjoy that. You used to enjoy coming home and making dinner with me and watching a movie..."

"Look I'm sorry if I've been drinking a lot lately..."

"It's not just lately, Jack," Sharon says softly and leans back against the dresser, "It's been almost two years. Emily's birthday is in a couple weeks. It wasn't soon after I went back to work after my maternity leave that you started going out more often. And you're spending more and more time with Andy...Andy's in a hole, Jack. As much as I like the guy, he's in a hole and I don't want him pulling you down that path. This isn't you. And you try taking breaks...you really do but you get pulled back in. I can't keep doing this every night."

"I know," Jack says, rubbing the back of his neck. Sharon sighs, reaching up to swipe a couple tears out of her eyes, sniffling slightly, "Shar, don't cry."

"How can I not?" Sharon says, letting out a mirthless laugh. She pushes herself up, "There's some left over coffee in the kitchen and there's a new bottle of Excedrin in the bathroom. I'm going to take a quick walk, will you keep an ear out for Emily?"

"Yeah, of course," Jack says with a nod. Sharon sighs and heads back down the hallway, grabbing a sweatshirt on the way out the door before making her way down the walk.

* * *

[TBC]


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone who chimed in on the last chapter. Rest assured this story is actually going somewhere, just a loooooong setup (Potentially a sequel?) I've been fussing a bit with the pacing of this chapter, and the interactions. Let me know what you guys think.

We now find our wayward stars on a beach...

* * *

Sharon sighs as she looks out at the beach in front of her, focusing in on the sounds of the waves lapping at the shore and trying to drown out the heavy music pulsing from the beach side bar. She takes a sip of her drink, letting the bitter alcohol roll over her tongue before she tips the rest of it back and swallows it in one gulp. She winces at the burn and swallows as another wave of warmth rolls through her with bourbon fire tendrils. She sets her glass down on the boardwalk railing, looking up as another glass gets put down next to it, bright red liquid filling it. She looks up at Andy and smiles her thanks as she takes the new drink, taking a sip from it, enjoying the tart sweetness as a contrast to the spicy oak she'd just downed.

"I didn't think you were going to come," Andy says, leaning against the railing next to her. He takes a swallow of his own drink, double bourbon on the rocks, swallowing back the burn of the liquid.

"I wasn't going to at first," Sharon replies, looking over at him. They hadn't been on the best terms lately. Jack had managed a few good months of sobriety after Emily's birthday before he'd started falling off the wagon on occasion. Sharon didn't know if she was expecting full time sobriety out of him, who didn't enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner?

It wasn't until he'd ran into Andy again that he had fallen off hard. Any time the two of them spent in each others presence descended into arguments, words aimed to hurt hurled across the living room in forcefully hushed voices so they didn't wake Emily. She'd taken to locking the bedroom door at night, having no intention of sharing her bed with her drunk husband. Sharon didn't blame Andy, he wasn't expected to be her husband's keeper, but it didn't mean she viewed him any more favorably, especially considering his own issues at home.

"What changed?" Andy asks.

"I just really wanted to get drunk tonight," Sharon says bluntly, giving up on trying to hide her problems, "Emily has a friend in preschool, her mom offered to have her over for a sleepover some time. Figured tonight was as good of night as any, Sergeant."

"Well I'm honored that you would spend a free night getting drunk here," Andy says with a small smile as he leans into her, bumping her shoulder with his, "How is Emily? She's what…two? three?"

"Almost three, her birthday is next week," Sharon says, fishing in her purse for a moment before pulling out a picture from her wallet and showing it to Andy, "I'm picking her up tomorrow morning, grabbing some crappy airport coffee, and I'm taking her to visit my parents for a little while."

"She's cute," Andy says as he looks at the picture. Emily was perched on her mother's knee in a pink and white polka dot bathing suit grinning at the camera. His eyes drifted to Sharon sitting behind her with a matching smile on her face, in a simple black one piece with a floppy white sunhat on her head. It was obvious they were at the beach together somewhere. Andy wondered who had taken the picture, he didn't think Jack was a family day at the beach type. He hands the photo back to Sharon with a small smile, "She looks like her mother."

"She looks like her father," Sharon rebuts without thought, quickly turning her body as she tucks the picture away, mentally slapping herself for her comment.

"Your trip sounds like fun. Where do your parent's live?" Andy asks, not noticing her comment, as he drains the rest of his drink.

"Manchester, Connecticut," Sharon replies with a small shrug, "It's the first time I've taken Emily out there. They've come to visit us since she was born."

"I bet she'll love it," Andy comments with a smile, "Um, I'm gonna go grab a refill, don't go anywhere."

"Of course, sir," Sharon smiles with a wink. She waits, focusing back on the waves, until she feels his presence again. She turns around when he doesn't speak, raising her eyebrows as she sees him with a bottle of bourbon, two glasses, and a table cloth draped over his arm, "Going somewhere?"

"Down to the beach if you'll join me," Andy says, "Seems we're both a little tired of the party. And we haven't talked in a while."

"Okay," Sharon nods slightly, "Let's go down to the beach."

"Lead the way," Andy says. Sharon grabs her drink and heads over to the short staircase leading down to the sand. She walks them a little bit away from the bar to a more secluded area, before turning on her heel to face Andy.

"This good?"

"Perfect," Andy says before flicking out the tablecloth onto the sand. He plops down patting the open area next to him before opening the bottle and pouring both of them a drink. Sharon toes off her shoes and sinks down onto the tablecloth next to Andy.

"So, Sergeant, I don't suppose you actually asked for these things," Sharon says as she takes the proffered glass, taking a sip of the amber liquid.

"I asked for the bottle. I'm not picking up the tab tonight," Andy grins, "The table cloth…no one was sitting there anyway."

"Well, before I forget, congratulations on your promotion," Sharon says, clinking her glass against his, both of them tossing their shots back.

"Thanks, the exam's not as rough as the detective exam…but," Andy shrugs, "I was sure I'd written a couple too many checks with my mouth the last year that even if I passed they weren't going to give it to me."

"Well now you're in a league where you need good behavior to get to the next level," Sharon smiles teasingly. Andy laughs and rolls his eyes. The two of them talk their way through the rest of the bottle, Andy laughing as he pours the last dribble in her mouth as they lay across the tablecloth, looking up at the stars. Sharon swallows the last of the amber liquid, letting out her own laugh as she swipes the back of her hand across her mouth, "I don't know how you can have such a good aim with how drunk you are."

"Years of practice."

"Pouring liquor in women's mouths?" Sharon laughs

"Aiming while drunk," Andy laughs again. His brown eyes lock with her green ones and his face becomes more serious as he drops the bottle into the sand next to them, "Why did you come alone?"

"What do you mean?" Sharon asks, arching her eyebrow.

"Come to the party alone. You sent Emily to a friend's house, I doubt that the Raydor house is falling over itself trying to figure out what to do on a Friday night."

"Why did you?" Sharon rebuts. Andy sighs as he sinks down to his back, casting his eyes back up at the sky.

"Vicky kicked me out," Andy says after a couple moments, "Couple weeks ago. She won't let me come home. Says I drink too much."

"You do," Sharon comments, sighing, "You definitely do."

"I do not."

"You function, but you drink too much," Sharon says. Her head rolls to the side and she admires his profile in the moonlight. She stays quiet for a couple moments before replying, "Jack left."

"What?" Andy inquires as he turns his head to the side, his eyes catching hers again.

"He left," Sharon says simply. She swallows and sighs, her head slipping down a bit further to rest on his shoulder, "I left early for court on Monday. He was supposed to take Emily to daycare and go to work himself…at least he did the first part. I picked her up on my way home, and there was a letter on the kitchen counter. He'd packed some clothes, his shaving kit…he was just gone."

"Where did he go?" Andy asks quietly. Sharon shrugs and turns her body closer to his as a breeze sweeps across the bridge, snuggling just a little closer as his arm wraps around her.

"No idea. He's been gambling, along with drinking. He went by the bank…cleaned out a lot of our account…"

"That's a shit move," Andy comments, anger seeping into his tone.

"Yeah, it is," Sharon sighs. Her hand reaches up and she swipes her fingers under her eye to catch a couple tears, sniffling softly, "I don't know what's going on with him anymore...he's like a completely different person than the guy I married. When I met Jack he had so much ambition. We were going to start our own firm, have a big family...live the dream you know?"

"Don't we all want to live the dream in our twenties?"

"Probably," Sharon lets out a small chuckle, sighing, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Did you and Vicky have dreams?"

"Sure," Andy shrugs, "Nothing like you though probably. We didn't want to be struggling to make ends meet like our parents. Have a couple kids. Nice house in a good neighborhood. Life has a funny way of getting in the middle of things."

"Yeah..." Sharon breathes. She lays quietly for a moment, her hand resting on Andy's chest and over his heart. Andy's hand rubs up and down her back, his fingers trailing along her spine, feeling her shiver as another breeze moves in, "How do we keep ending up here?"

"Ending up where? On a beach? Cause I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've been here."

"With each other...I never should have talked to you again after that first night in the bar. Yet I did. I kept talking to you, I _liked_ you..."

"Is that such a terrible thing?"

"Probably, I'm a married woman. You're a married man. We're not married to each other," Sharon points out, "And yet...I can't stay away. I…just can't get you out of my head sometimes."

"You're not nearly drunk enough if you're still thinking about things like that."

"Why? Were you trying to get me drunk?" Sharon teases, sitting up on her elbow and looking down at Andy.

" _Trying_...mmm that's a strong word," Andy grins at her. Sharon rolls her eyes before she glances down at Andy's mouth and then back up at his dark brown eyes. She leans down and presses her lips softly against his, a happy hum filtering out of her mouth as he responds. She pulls back from his mouth after a few more moments, looking down at him with darkened green eyes, "Sharon..."

"Don't..." Sharon lets out a small, shuddering breath, "Don't say anything please."

"Why?" Andy asks.

"Because I _want_ to do this...and I don't need you trying to talk me out of this," Sharon murmurs, pressing another kiss to his lips before moving her lips down and across his jaw. Her leg easily slips over his hips and she straddles him as her lips move from his jaw and down his neck. Andy's hands slip up her thighs with ease and he grips her hips in his large hands, his head tipping back slightly. Their last coupling, their _only_ coupling, hadn't left time for exploration, and Sharon seemed intent on making up for lost time.

Sharon's lips trail slowly down his neck as her hands work the buttons of his shirt open, slipping her hands up the tank top he was wearing underneath. Her teeth sink down teasingly into his pulse point, a grin spreading across her lips as Andy groans and his grip on her tightens. She pushes up his tank to expose his chest, her nails gently raking through the light smattering of chest hair she finds. Her mouth continues it's journey, making it's way down his chest, pausing to detour to tease his nipples.

Sharon's tongue dips into his navel and she bites, looking up at Andy as he sits up on his elbows and looks down at her. Andy's eyes darken as he looks at her, his breathing deep.

"If you keep going..."

"What?" Sharon asks, arching her eyebrow as her fingers undo his belt buckle. She sits up slightly and works his fly open, "We're not going to stop? Thought I already made that clear."

"Just giving you an opportunity."

"Are you always this gentlemanly when you're drunk?"

"Are you always this wordy when you're drunk?"

"I can start reciting Shakespeare," Sharon grins. She leans down and presses her lips to his in a hungry kiss, her nails scraping softly over his chest before digging into his pecs. Her hips rock against his in a teasing grind, drawing a groan out of Andy as he lifts his hips up against hers. Sharon moans softly and tears her lips away from Andy's, looking down at him with half lidded eyes, "You taste like oak and vanilla…"

"We both do," Andy murmurs, looking back up at her, "You've got a little something extra though."

"Oh yeah?" Sharon smiles.

"Yeah," Andy nods, grinning back. Sharon's hips shift back as she slips her hand in Andy's boxers, wrapping her fingers around his hard length. Her eyes keep contact with his as her fingers stroke over him gently, pulling him out of his underwear.

"I wonder what you really taste like…" Sharon murmurs, arching her eyebrow at him before her hips slip further back and she wraps her mouth around him. Andy's head drops back and he groans, his hand reaching up to tangle in her hair.

"Oh, fuck," Andy gasps, his eyes focused on the stars above him as Sharon's mouth works over him, tasting him and teasing him. She pulls away as his sounds get more impatient, slipping her way back up his body to capture his lips as she sinks down onto him.

"Andy," Sharon whimpers, his name falling off her lips without a second thought.

* * *

[TBC]

 **Post-Notes:** That episode - wowza! MC is back!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes:** I love hearing peoples thoughts on everything, so please read and review!

* * *

Sharon rubs the crust of sleep and mascara out of her eyes as she wakes up in the morning, wincing and closing her eyes at the sunlight pouring into the room. She lets out a soft groan as she rolls over, burying her face into her pillow, her nose wrinkling in confusion when she smells warm spice instead of the jasmine scent that usually lingered on her pillows. She lifts her head and looks over at the other side of the bed, groaning again when she sees Andy sprawled out on his back, a soft snore rumbling from his throat.

"Oh god..." Sharon whimpers as she drops her head back to the pillow. She cracks an eye open and looks at the bedside table, reading the clock that was situated there. She manages to push herself into a sitting position and runs her fingers through her hair with her free hand, the other holding the sheet she'd been under to her chest. She takes a moment for the room to stop spinning before she stands, pulling the sheet with her. She collects her clothes and dresses before going into the bathroom and using a washcloth to wipe her face off, cleaning the streaks of mascara and the last of her makeup away. She makes her way back to the room and balances a hand on the dresser as she pulls her heels back on, watching as Andy sits up on his elbows and looks at her.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, I still need to get home and go get Emily. Our flight is in a couple hours," Sharon says, setting her foot down and sighing as she looks at him, "I'll swing by the bullpen when I get back."

"Are we forgetting this one happened too?" Andy asks. Sharon only shrugs, a slightly chastised look on her face.

"I don't know," She mumbles. She walks over to the bed and leans down pressing a kiss to his lips, "I did have a good time last night, no matter how terrible my head hurts now."

"Lightweight," Andy smiles, pulling her down for one more long kiss before he lets her go. Sharon makes her way to the door, waving her fingers at him before she leaves the room and lets the door shut behind her. She sinks against the heavy wood and sighs, taking a moment before she makes her way down the hallway to the elevator, pressing the down button. She grabs herself a coffee and muffin from the breakfast in the lobby before using the pay phone to call herself a cab, sitting on the bench outside as she waits.

Once she's home she hops into the shower, taking a long one as she washes the sand and sweat from her body, working conditioner through her hair to manage the tangles that had arisen. Once she dries off she dresses in a pair of jeans and an old Yale t-shirt, pulling her hair back into a bun at the nape of her neck. She stuffs her feet into a pair of slip ons and grabs the bag that she had packed for them the day before, hauling it out to the car. She makes sure everything is turned off and locked up before getting into the car and going to pick up Emily.

She parks behind the car already in the driveway and gets out, rounding the front of the car to head up the walk. A smile easily spreads across Sharon's lips as she sees her daughter dart out the door, leaning down to sweep her up into her arms. She presses a kiss to the little brunette's cheek, squeezing her close.

"Mama!"

"Hi, my darling," Sharon murmurs as she holds Emily close for a moment before letting her down, "Did you have fun with Gabby?"

"Uh huh, we color and pway wif puppy. Den-den-den we see a moobie!" Emily exclaims, her chattering coming out at break neck speed.

"That sounds like so much fun!" Sharon says, adding a little enthusiasm to her voice as she greets Gabby's mother, "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all, she was a delight to have over. Good night out?"

"Ah, little too good," Sharon laughs, letting a slight grimace flit across her face, "Nothing a little coffee can't fix though. Emmy, why don't you go grab your bag and say bye to Gabby?"

"Otay," Emily grins up at Sharon before running back into the house. She comes out a few moments later, a purple backpack bouncing on her back as she holds a worn Yale bulldog under her arm in a choke hold, "Bye, Mrs. Rodi!"

"Bye, Emily."

"Thanks again, Danielle."

"No problem, have a good trip." Sharon gets Emily loaded into the car, peppering her face with kisses before getting in the driver's seat again and backing out of the driveway.

"You ready to go see Nana and Pop-pop."

"Ah huh!" Emily nods, her curls bouncing as she looks out the window of the car. Sharon smiles as she looks back at her before navigating them to the airport.

It was two weeks later when the two of them got back to LA just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. Sharon pulls into her drive way, disheartened when she sees that the garage is still empty. She parks the car and turns off the engine, carrying the bag inside before coming back and gathering the sleeping Emily from her car seat. She carries the little girl inside and upstairs, bypassing the pink bedroom before laying Emily down in her own bed. She takes her shoes off and undresses her down to her undershirt before tucking her under the blankets.

Sharon brushes her fingers through Emily's hair and presses a kiss to her head before heading back downstairs to grab their bag. She grabs their bag as well as the phone, pressing in the number for 411 before heading over to the laundry.

"Information, how can I direct your call?"

"Could you connect me with the Holiday Inn in North Hollywood please?"

"One moment please." Sharon turns the washer on and begins to sort clothes into it as she listens to the phone ring through. After a moment the phone connects again.

"Holiday Inn North Hollywood, this is Amanda speaking. How can I help you today?"

"Could you connect me to Andy Flynn's room…I believe it was 523."

"One moment…Let me put you through."

"Thank you," Sharon murmurs, closing the lid of the washer. She takes the rest of the clothes out of the suitcase and tucks it in the top of the closet before closing the door. She listens to the phone ring for a few moments before it picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, how are you?" Sharon asks, a smile spreading across her face.

"Ah, good, good. How was your trip?"

"It was…good," Sharon says, trying to figure out how to sum up their trip, "It was good seeing my parents. They enjoyed seeing Emily…We just got home."

"No Jack?"

"No…doesn't look like anyone's been here since we left," Sharon says, "Anyway…I just wanted to call and let you know that we were back. I'm out of the office tomorrow, but maybe we could get lunch on Tuesday or something…"

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great."

"Okay," Sharon smiles, biting her lip, "I'll see you later then."

"I'll see you later," Andy replies, "Sleep tight."

"You too," Sharon whispers before hanging up the phone. She locks the house back up and makes her way upstairs, changing into pajamas before climbing into bed next to Emily. The little girl sidles up to her mother, resting her head on her chest before letting out a soft sigh. Sharon wraps her arm around Emily and rubs her back as she closes her own eyes, letting out a long breath.

Sharon breezes into the office Tuesday morning, her gun and badge clipped on her hip and her hair pulled away from her face. She sets her purse down at her desk and drops into her seat, starting to sort through the stack of memos on her desk as she reaches out to grab her phone. She looks up as a pair of knuckles knock against the edge of her desk, smiling at Andy.

"Hi."

"Hey. I wanted to stop by and let you know I'm running on a case. I don't think I'll be able to do lunch today," Andy says.

"That's fine," Sharon says, "Whenever works for you, just let me know."

"I will," Andy smiles, tapping his knuckles once more before making his way out of the Vice bullpen. Their lunches keep getting pushed off and back as their units catch cases until a few weeks had passed. Andy loosens his tie as he makes his way down to Vice, intending to ask about dinner instead of lunch. He turns the corner to pass by the interview rooms and the observation room door bursts open, to officers rushing to the adjoining area. His feet pick up as he notices they were Vice officers, bursting into the room with the group.

The table and chairs were discarded further to the side and Andy notices Sharon pinned to the ground by who he assumed was the suspect. Her cheek was split open and he currently had his hands around her throat, choking her as she tried to pull him off. Andy clocks the guy in the head and grabs him in a choke hold, throwing him to the ground. He lets the Vice officers take the suspect over before he turns around and lifts Sharon up off the ground, scooping her up in his arms. He carries her out to the next interview room, sitting her down on top of the table. Sharon coughs and winces, lifting a hand to her throat as Andy shakes his sleeve out, swiping the blood off of her cheek.

"What the fuck happened in there?" Andy asks, concerned.

"Sore spot," Sharon comments, her voice slightly raspy. They both look up as a paramedic comes in, case in hand. Andy steps back as he tends to her injury, checking her over before putting a butterfly clasp on the cut and swabbing some ointment over it.

"I don't think you need to go to the hospital, but see your regular doctor if you have some issues with this or your neck."

"Thanks," Sharon says, rolling her sleeve back down as he tears off the blood pressure cuff. She looks over at Andy after he leaves, her eyebrow arching slightly.

"What were you doing here?"

"I was on my way to see if you wanted to grab dinner since our lunches seem to keep getting pushed off."

"Literally just happened to be walking by?" Sharon says.

"Lucky for you," Andy says, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "So, can I take you to dinner?"

"I'm late picking up Emily," Sharon comments after she consults her watch.

"We can pick her up. I don't mind her coming along," Andy offers.

"Are you sure?" Sharon says, rubbing her hand over her throat again.

"Yeah," Andy nods. He helps her down off the table and follows her to her desk, both of them pause when they see the FID Commander standing next to Sharon's desk.

"Commander Robbins, I didn't think that assault required an FID investigation," Sharon says tactfully as she steps closer to her desk.

"It doesn't, though I was hoping to have a moment of your time, Detective."

"Of course," Sharon nods, "Just one second."

Sharon scribbles down a phone number on a piece of scrap paper. She hands it to Andy and looks up at him.

"Can you call this number? Just tell them that I'm running behind picking up Emily but that I should be there in half an hour? I'll meet you down at your car?"

"Yeah of course," Andy nods, "I'll be downstairs."

"Thank you," Sharon offers a relieved smile before turning back to Commander Robbins. Andy heads back down to his desk, calling the number that Sharon had given him.

"St. Joseph's Day Care, how can I help you?"

"Hi, this is Sergeant Andy Flynn with the LAPD. Sharon Raydor wanted me to call and say that she was going to be a little late picking up her daughter Emily, but she expects to be there in the next half hour or so."

"Is that the soonest that Mrs. Raydor is going to be able to get here? Emily's the only one left that hasn't been picked up…we were already supposed to close half an hour ago." Andy looks at his watch and picks up his car keys.

"Where are you guys located at?"

"Grand and Temple, St. Joseph's Catholic Church."

"I will come and pick Emily up," Andy offers, "I'm just down the street at the Parker Center. I'll be there in two seconds."

"Sure, thank you Sergeant."

"Thank you," Andy says before hanging up the phone. He jogs down to the parking garage and gets in his car, driving down the street to the church. He notices the sigh for the preschool entrance, driving around the back and pulling up in front of the door. He puts his hazards on before going inside to get Emily. He shows the attendant his badge and ID before Emily's brought out with her backpack on and the Yale bulldog wrapped under her arm, "Hi Emily. I'm Andy, I work with your mom. She got stuck at work and I'm going to take you to the station."

"We goin to see Mama?" Emily asks, latching onto Andy's hand and walking out to the car with him.

"Yep, we're gonna go see Mama," Andy says, smiling down at the little girl. He hoists her into the passenger seat and takes her back to the Parker Center with him. He leaves the car out front and takes Emily inside, sitting on a bench just inside the lobby with her.

"Where she at?"

"She was in a meeting, she should be back soon," Andy says, looking at his watch. He looks over at the little brunette with the dog still tucked under her arm, "Did you have fun at school?"

"Ah huh! We finger paint. I made mama a pisher."

"Is it in your bag?" Andy asks, reaching back to unzip the pocket. He rifles through a couple things before pulling out the picture Emily had mentioned. He looks at the colorful blobs on the paper and holds it out between him and Emily, "What did you paint for your mom?"

"Dis is Mama," Emily points out, "And dis me. And dis a puppy. And dis our house."

"That's a pretty picture," Andy says, "Do you have a puppy?"

"No, I tell Mama I want one though," Emily grins.

Sharon clacks her way across the floor at a brisk pace, throwing a glance at her watch, cursing as she realizes how far behind schedule she was. The day care was going to be furious at her. She comes to a quick stop when she sees Andy and Emily sitting on the bench, Emily talking animatedly at the man sitting next to her. Emily grins up at Andy and he grins back at her, Sharon realizing they had the same smile.

"Oh boy," Sharon shakes her head before continuing her journey over to the duo.

* * *

[TBC]

 **PS:** Notice that homage to this week's episode? ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes:** Surprise! Second chapter today! It might be a smidge after this one, I need to figure out where we're going next. Please read and enjoy!

* * *

Sharon lifts Emily into the booth before moving in to sit next to her, helping her up into the booster seat. Andy takes a seat across from them, picking up his menu. Their waitress comes over, smiling at the group as she flips to a new page in their order booklet.

"How are you guys doing tonight?"

"Fine," Sharon says with a small smile, looking up from her menu.

"Can I get you started with something to drink?"

"I'll take a Coke," Andy says.

"Iced tea for me…and water for her," Sharon says, "Thank you."

"I'll be right back with those in a jiff," The waitress says before leaving them alone. Sharon reaches over and runs her fingers through Emily's hair as she colors on the kids menu that had been set for her.

"What sounds good, sweetie? What about chicken fingers and broccoli?"

"Cheeseburber?" Emily suggests.

"No, we had cheeseburgers the other night," Sharon says.

"Okayyy," Emily grumbles, switching her blue crayon out for the red one, "Applesauce?"

"Sure, you can have some applesauce," Sharon agrees, focusing back on her own menu. The waitress comes back with their drinks, setting them out across the table and tucking the tray under her arm.

"Are you ready to order or do you still need a couple minutes?"

"I can order," Sharon says, looking across at Andy. He nods and gestures for her to go ahead, "For her, I think we'll do chicken fingers, a side of steamed broccoli, and a cup of applesauce. I will do…can I get a grilled chicken sandwich on sourdough with just extra tomato and a little bit of mayo on it please?"

"Sure, we can do that. For you sir?" The waitress asks as she takes Sharon's menu.

"BLT with fries, please," Andy says as he hands over his menu.

"Alright, I'll put that in right away." Sharon nods and looks over at Emily, watching as she takes a big drink from her kiddie cup before going back to her coloring.

"How does your neck feel?" Andy asks.

"Sore…I'm sure it's going to turn wonderful colors in the next couple days," Sharon says with a grimace, her hand drifting up again. She pulls it back after a moment, curling her hands around her iced tea with a soft sigh, "How have things been going with Vicky?'

"Not good," Andy says, his hands playing with his napkin, "I've been trying to cut back on drinking…she's still not really letting me see the kids. I wouldn't be surprised if papers showed up on my desk soon."

"Are you still at the hotel?"

"No, I moved to an apartment in Silver Lake. Short term lease, figure once things get hammered out I can look into getting a house somewhere…" Andy shrugs.

"God that's so close to work," Sharon says wistfully, "I love Van Nuys, but it takes me half an hour to get downtown on a good day. And I have to drop her off at daycare which adds extra time…we end up leaving the house almost an hour and a half early some days. Which is…"

"Not fun to do with a three year old?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head with a smile, taking a sip of her tea, "It'll be even more difficult with two."

"Two?" Andy asks, his brow lifting as he looks at her in surprise.

"Mmmhm," Sharon hums with a nod. She bites her lip and sighs as she looks across the table at Andy. She studies him for a moment, watching his eyes as things click together in his head, "I don't expect anything from you, Andy…I never have. I just…I thought you should know this time. Maybe because I don't have any illusions that Jack…Jack and I aren't going to work out. He left me, he left Emily…he took all of my money…"

"What do you mean this time?" Andy says, a sharp tone to his voice. Sharon glances over at Emily before looking back at Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Did the thought never really occur to you?" Sharon asks, "We have our thing in the bar and then I happen to end up pregnant? I threw my birth control out the day Jack and I got married, I wanted to have kids…It just never happened."

"I just assumed…" Andy says as he stares at Emily, studying her face as she colors.

"So did I," Sharon says with a small shrug, "But as she got older…Her hair, her eyes, her smile, even her _temper_ …that's _all_ you."

"I…shit," Andy says as he leans back on his side of the booth. Sharon glares at him, looking pointedly at Emily, "Crap, sorry."

"Andy say a bad word," Emily says, looking up at Sharon with a frown.

"He did, I guess he's not getting any dessert tonight," Sharon says with a teasing grin. Andy rolls his eyes with a smile, before his eyes widen as Sharon winces when she smiles, lifting her hand to her cheek.

"Jesus, Sharon! What about earlier? Shouldn't you go to the hospital or something? What about the baby?"

"I'm fine," Sharon assures Andy, reaching across the table to cover his hand. He uncurls his fist and takes her hand in his, still looking at her with concerned eyes, "Really. We're fine."

"I suppose you have done this before," Andy concedes. He looks down at their hands, joined together on the table, stroking his thumb over her pale skin, "So what do we do?"

"Same thing we've always done?" Sharon says with a shrug, "I like you Andy. But…"

"But?"

"We're both still married, for one. You've been doing better, but you still drink," Sharon says, "I'd rather they didn't have a father than have one that's stuck in a bottle…"

"I understand that."

"So that's where I'm at right now…" Sharon says, pulling her hand back as the waitress brings their food over. Andy thanks her after she sets out the plates, assuring her they didn't need anything. Sharon takes Emily's plate, cutting up her chicken for her before tucking a napkin in the front of her shirt.

"Fanks, Mama," Emily says as she reaches out and grabs a piece of chicken, popping it in her mouth as she continues to color. Andy and Sharon are quiet as they eat their dinner, exchanging looks across the table occasionally. After finishing her chicken fingers and broccoli, Emily eyeballs Andy's plate before speaking, "Andy, can I has a fwy?"

Andy's eyes widen as the little girl talks to him, looking over into her wide brown eyes. He nods and pushes the plate closer to her, "Sure, have as many as you want."

Emily grabs as many as her tiny hand can hold, putting them on her plate as she grins at Andy, "Fank you!"

"You're welcome," Andy smiles back, pulling his plate closer to himself again. Sharon ends up picking her sandwich apart as she eats, licking her thumb off as she eyeballs Andy's fries as well. He rolls his eyes and grabs the last bit of his sandwich, pushing his plate closer to her.

"Thanks," Sharon says, blushing as she picks up a fry.

Andy picks up their bill once they're done with dinner and dessert, driving Sharon and Emily home. Emily falls asleep against Sharon's side during the ride, but once he parks Andy picks her up from the seat carrying her inside for Sharon.

"Bedroom?"

"Upstairs, on the left," Sharon says as she takes her shoes off before following him. Andy nudges the door open with his foot before laying Emily down in her bed. Sharon takes off her shoes and socks before pulling the blanket up, pressing a kiss to her head. The two of them walk back downstairs and Sharon walks Andy to the door, "Thanks for carrying her inside. And for dinner."

"No problem," Andy says, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I meant what I said earlier. I don't expect or need anything from you," Sharon reiterates.

"I know…" Andy nods, "She's great you know?"

"Emily?"

"Yeah. She's smart, polite, follows the rules…she takes after her mother," Andy comments.

"Thank you," Sharon says, blushing slightly. Andy leans down and presses his lips to Sharon's, kissing her softly and slowly. She hums and kisses him back for a moment before pulling away.

"Have a good night, Sharon."

"You too, Andy," Sharon whispers, watching as he walks down the sidewalk to his car. As he pulls away she shuts the door and locks it, dropping her head against the wood. Her hand drifts against her stomach and she lets out a long breath.

For the next few months Andy and Sharon had an amicable relationship. Occasionally he would come over on weekends, spend time with her and Emily and help out with a couple things around the house. The little girl had taken a shining to Andy and enjoyed when he came by, usually with a present for her. Sharon had suggested a friend to Andy for a divorce attorney after he'd finally gotten confirmation that Vicky was proceeding with leaving him. She offered as much support as she could, keeping an eye on the proceedings from afar.

It was a Saturday night and she was sitting on the floor of the living room with Emily, playing with her dolls as they watched a movie when a knock came at the door. Sharon sighs as she looks at her watch before starting the process of getting up off the floor.

"Just a second!" Sharon calls out, pushing herself up off the floor before letting out a breath as she waddles to the door. She was almost six months pregnant and felt bigger than she had ever been with Emily. She checks the peep hole and opens the door, surprised to see Andy on the other side with a duffel bag at his feet, "Hey, what's up?"

"I am on my way out of town," Andy says, hiking his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the car waiting in the driveway. Upon closer inspection Sharon could see it was his partner driving and waiting, "And I wanted to stop and drop something off and say goodbye."

"Where are you going?" Sharon asks, looking back at Andy. He was dressed in a Dodgers shirt and jeans, a ball cap on his head. Of all the times they'd spent together she'd never seen him look so casual.

"Um…rehab," Andy responds. An ashamed look crosses over his face and he raises his hand to rub the back of his neck, "Gavin suggested that it would be better than just quitting on my own. It would be documented so when we got to the custody arrangements…I'd have a better chance of getting to see them."

"I'd agree with that," Sharon says, "Where are you going?"

"It's a place in Ojai. Private, but not too expensive."

"How long?" Sharon asks, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe. Her hand drifts across her belly, rubbing it through her shirt.

"I have to stay for at least 30 days…the whole program is four months."

"Mama, who you talkin to?" Emily asks as she toddles around the corner from the living room. A grin breaks across her face when she sees Andy standing outside, "Andy!"

"Hey, monkey," Andy says, sweeping the girl up as she runs over.

"Guess what Mama and I did today?"

"What did you do?" Andy asks, brushing a few curls out of Emily's face as he holds her on his hip.

"We went to the moobies and saw a moobie about a mermaid. And there were fishies and singing…" Emily tells him, "And then we gots lunch down by the beach."

"That sounds like a fun day!" Andy says enthusiastically, smiling at Emily.

"Wanna come finish watching our moobie?"

"I can't stay tonight, I gotta leave here in a couple minutes," Andy explains.

"Where you goin?" Emily frowns.

"I am going on a vacation for a while," Andy says after thinking for a moment. Emily's frown deepens as she looks at Andy, pushing away from his chest for a moment as her eyes get watery.

"Like Dada?" Emily whispers.

"No," Andy shakes his head, "No, monkey…not like Dada. I'll be back as soon as I can. And while I'm gone you can draw me pictures and send them to me. I can show all my friends what pretty pictures my monkey draws."

"You promise?" Emily asks, her bottom lip sticking out.

"I promise," Andy holds up his pinky to her, "Pinky promise?"

"Otay," Emily says, her little pinky wrapping around his much larger one. Andy smiles at her and squeezes her pinky before pressing a kiss to her head as he wraps his arms around her hugging her tight. He buries his nose in her dark hair and closes his eyes before pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

"I love you, Em…" Andy whispers before setting her down on the ground.

"Em, why don't you go finish your movie?" Sharon says, nudging her daughter towards the living room, "I'll be in in a second."

Emily nods and pads towards the living room, turning around once more before she rounds the corner and looking at Andy. She hesitates before continuing into the living room. Andy sighs and wraps his arms around Sharon, holding her close. Sharon wraps her arms around his waist and buries her nose into his shoulder. The two stand quietly for a few moments before Sharon speaks.

"You can do this…" She whispers, her fingers stroking through the little hair she had access to as she holds him close to her.

"I hope so," Andy says, his hands rubbing up her back. He pulls away and picks up the bag at his feet, handing it to her, "There's some stuff in here I didn't want to put in storage. In the side pocket there's a little something for you guys."

"I'll put in a safe spot," Sharon says, turning to set it on the table inside the door. She turns back to Andy and leans up on her toes, pressing a kiss to his lips. He kisses her back softly, resting his hands on her belly. Sharon covers his hands as she pulls her mouth away, leaning her head against his, "We'll be fine."

"I'll call or write as soon as I can."

"I'll be here," Sharon murmurs.

"I gotta go…" Andy says pulling his hands back and straightening up. Sharon grabs his hand before he can walk away, Andy turning and looking at her with an arched eyebrow.

"You _can_ do this, Andy. I believe in you."

"Thanks, Shar," Andy says, squeezing her hand before letting her go. Sharon watches as he walks to the car, climbing into the passenger side. She steps back inside, closing the door and locking it. She makes her way back to the living room, slipping back down to the floor with Emily with a groan. The little girl abandons her dolls and shuffles closer to Sharon, snuggling up to her side with her thumb in her mouth. The two finish the movie in silence before Sharon turns the tv off and holds her hands out to Emily to take her to bed. Once she gets her tucked in Emily looks up at her as she tucks her bulldog under her arm.

"Mama?"

"Yeah, baby?" Sharon asks as she sits on the side of the bed.

"Can Andy be Dada?" Emily asks, her tiny brow furrowed.

"We'll have to ask him when he gets home from vacation," Sharon says with a small smile. She brushes her fingers through Emily's hair before turning the light off and pressing a kiss to her head, "Sleep tight, my darling."

* * *

[TBC]


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes:** Thanks so much for everyones great comments from the last chapter. This one is a bit longer - please let me know what you think about where we're heading. Thanks!

* * *

Sharon sighs as she walks down to the end of the driveway, opening the mailbox. She pulls out the stack of mail, flipping through it on her way back into the house. Most of the envelopes were stamped with Past Due marks, but there was one on the bottom that had a hand scrawled address on it with a return label for Ojai, California. Sharon steps back into the house and shuts the door as she heads into the kitchen, her nail slipping under the flap of the envelope to open it. She pulls out slightly worn notebook paper, unfolding the couple pages tucked inside

"Mama." "Yes, honey?" Sharon says as her eyes begin to scan the paper.

"I done."

"Did you eat your carrots?" Sharon asks as she tears her eyes away from the scrawl in front of her and looking at Emily's lunch plate.

"I don't like them," Emily says, pushing her plate away.

"Yes you do," Sharon says as she pulls the plate closer again, taking one of the baby carrots from the plate and popping it in her own mouth. She takes a seat at the table next to Emily, her hand rubbing over her belly as she reads the letter from Andy. Emily grumbles and picks up a carrot before starting to eat them.

"What's that?" Emily asks after she finishes her carrots, pushing her plate away again, lest her mother put any more vegetables on it.

"A letter," Sharon tells her, reaching out to run her fingers through Emily's hair before folding the paper up, "Andy says he misses you and he can't wait to get some pretty pictures from you."

"Oh! I make him some!" Emily says, climbing down from her seat at the table to run and go get her coloring supplies. Sharon sighs and puts the rest of the mail in the holder before getting up to clean up her and Emily's lunch dishes.

Later in the evening after putting Emily down to bed for the night Sharon pads into the kitchen, grabbing her checkbook from her purse before sitting down at the table and starting to unpack the bills. She lays everything out and starts to calculate out where she could contribute money. After a few hours of figuring out how she could shuffle her money around, Sharon opens the back of her checkbook and chews on the bottom of her lip as she looks at the check she had tucked back there from Andy.

In the duffle bag he'd dropped off before he'd left to go to Ojai he had tucked a letter for her into the side pocket along with a stuffed monkey and a check for $1500. He had scrawled at the end of his letter that he understood that she didn't expect anything, but he wanted to help out where he could. She'd avoided cashing it, unable to reconcile Andy's generosity with feeling like it was charity.

Sharon pulls the check out and strokes her finger over it before flipping it over and endorsing her name on the back. She makes out enough checks to cover all of the bills laid out in front of her, paper clipping everything together before stacking it up to go to the bank in the morning. She balances everything out in the ledger before making a short list for the grocery store. She checks over the calendar and makes sure that everything had been covered.

After packing her bill paying supplies away she pulls out a couple pieces of letter paper before starting to write to Andy. She loops letters together across the front and back of both pages, pouring her heart out along the blank sheets. Her hand doesn't pause until the last swipe of her name in the corner of the last page. Love, Sharon she signed. She folds up the paper and tucks it into a blank envelope, copying over the address from the received letter. She leaves it open as she drops it on top of the stack of bills, deciding to wait for Emily to be able to tuck in a couple drawings.

Sharon makes her way upstairs and takes a long hot shower before getting ready for bed. She pulls her hair back into a damp braid and dresses in a large men's shirt before padding into Emily's room to check on her. She presses a soft kiss to her daughter's hair, pulling her blankets back up with a soft smile as Emily mumbles while she rolls over. She turns off the hall light as she goes back to her room, leaving the door cracked a couple inches with a practiced hand as she immediately sinks into bed with a long sigh. How had she ended up here?

Much of the next few months at least twice a week Sharon would receive letters from Andy and in return she would send him a reply along with a couple of Emily's pictures. She ended her letters with love, told him how proud she was of him, and couldn't wait to see him home, but for the most part they avoided any serious topics in their messages.

Yet, the closer it got to Andy coming home the more things seemed to go awry. Sharon had taken Friday afternoon off to go to her 32 week appointment and take advantage of a couple hours to tidy the house without Emily underfoot. She was half way through putting Emily's old crib together when the doorbell rang.

Sharon sighs as she pushes herself up off the floor, blowing an errant few strands of hair out of her face as she makes her way downstairs. She rolls her eyes as the doorbell rings again a couple times before she reaches the door, snapping it open instead of looking through the peephole. Her eyes widen when she sees Jack standing on the other side, looking a little worse for wear, his suitcase hanging limply at his side. He jingles his keys in his hand after recovering from his own shock.

"You changed the locks." "Of course I changed the locks," Sharon says, her eyes narrowing as she looks across the threshold at her husband, "It's not like I knew where you were. And the last thing I need is someone trying to recoup some bet by breaking into my house in the middle of the night." "Our house." "My house," Sharon says, "It's not like you've been here to contribute to the mortgage much these last oh...eight months."

"Seems like someone else has taken my place," Jack bites back, gesturing to her stomach. Sharon wanted to yell back, to ask him how he could insinuate such things. Except they were true, she had slept with someone else. It wasn't like she could deny it, especially not considering what she was going to be hoping to get out of Jack now that he had made his way home.

"I don't suppose you have any of the money you took out of our account," Sharon says, changing tactic.

"Ah...not anymore," Jack says, backing off. Sharon narrows her eyes again at his demeanor. There was something he wasn't telling her.

"Lost a couple too many games? Weren't as lucky as you thought?" Sharon inquires with force, "How far in the hole are you?" "About $10,000." "What?!" Sharon yells, "And you have the audacity to come back here, and what? Think that I'm going to bail you out? I've been struggling to make ends meet since the day you left. My credit is complete shit right now, I've paid so many bills late."

"Sharon..." Jack says, hanging his head. Sharon notices a couple of their neighbors walk by and opens the door wider letting Jack into the house.

"Get in here," Sharon orders with a firm voice. She slams the door shut after he walks in, her jaw set as he stands in the living room. He'd been gone for so long he looked out of place in their home, "I want a divorce."

"What? Sharon come on..."

"No Jack," Sharon interrupts, "This is not up for discussion. We are getting a divorce."

Sharon walks through to the kitchen, riffling through the papers she had on the kitchen table before bringing a sheet back to him.

"Either you agree to these terms, or I will take you for everything in court," Sharon explains. Jack's jaw sets as he looks at the list, reading it over before looking back up at her.

"Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"I wouldn't mind knowing whose kid I've been raising over the last three years."

"You haven't been raising anyone. I've been raising my daughter while you went out and got drunk every night and stole my money," Sharon reminds him, "You can stay here, on the couch, until you find a place or we get the house sold. But this is it, Jack. I'm done. The blankets are still in the closet. And I need to finish what I was working on before I have to go pick up Emily from daycare."

"Right," Jack nods. Sharon swallows as she looks him over one more time before heading back upstairs. She finishes putting the crib together and tucks it against the wall next to her bed. She sinks down onto the mattress and buries her face into her hands, a sob bubbling up from her throat. The dam that she had built up inside herself burst in one fell swoop as she sat on her bed crying, her shoulders shaking from the force of her tears. She reaches out and picks up the phone on her bedside table, punching in a number with shaky hands before holding the handset to her ear.

"O'Dwyer residence."

"Mom?"

"Sharon? Honey? What's wrong?" "I screwed up, Mom…" Sharon sobs, "I screwed up so bad…"

Later in the evening Sharon wanders through the house making sure everything was locked up as Jack makes up the couch. She turns off the light in the kitchen and pauses on her way to the stairs, watching as he tucks the blankets into the cushions.

"Jack?" Sharon murmurs.

"Hmm?" Jack asks as he looks up. He looked about as beaten down as she felt on the inside. Emily had practically ignored him when she'd gotten home that afternoon, and she wasn't behaving much better herself. All three of them were hurt and it showed.

"I never meant for any of this to happen," She tells him, honestly.

"I don't think either of us did," Jack assures her.

"Right," Sharon says, nodding before heading up the stairs and to her room. Emily was curled up on one side of the bed, her bulldog tucked in her arms as she subconsciously chews on his ear in her sleep.

The next morning Sharon's mother showed up on her daughter's doorstep, her own auburn mane tamed into a braid. After opening the door, Sharon promptly bursts into a fresh round of tears and Mary wraps her in her arms, shushing her as she presses a kiss to her head. Mary gets Sharon settled in the kitchen with the kettle on the stove before going to the living room to address Jack. Jack sighs as he stuffs his hands in his pockets, looking across the couch at his mother in law.

"I…I don't know what to do any more," Jack says, "I don't know how to make her feel better. She's been beside herself since yesterday afternoon." "I don't know that you can," Mary tells him sympathetically before her face hardens slightly, her green eyes narrowing, eerily similar to her daughter's, "I took the liberty of booking you a room at the Holiday Inn a couple blocks away. Our credit card is on file for the room, but I think it would be better if you stayed there than here while things get squared away. Bill will be here this weekend for as long as it takes to get the paperwork together and put in front of a judge." "Right," Jack says, heaving a sigh as tongue runs across his teeth before he nods, "Let me call a cab and then I'll be out of your hair." "Thank you," Mary replies before retreating back to the kitchen as she hears the kettle go off. She pulls it off the burner, pouring a cup out for Sharon before making one for herself, stirring in a spoonful of sugar. She carries them over to the table, setting them down gently before taking a seat across from Sharon, "Where's Emily?"

"A friend's house. I have to pick her up at four," Sharon whispers, shaking hands lifting the mug before she takes a sip of the hot liquid.

"Okay, so why don't we start from the beginning?" Mary prompts.

"My old partner, O'Malley…he talked me into going out for drinks after work a few years ago. I'd always rebuffed going out, but I figured I could accept once. That's where I met Andy…" Sharon begins, telling her mother the hidden story of the last few years of her life. Mary refills their mugs as Sharon talks, grabbing a box of tissues as the tears start again. It isn't until Sharon finishes that Mary speaks again.

"Where's Andy now?" "A rehab facility in Ojai. He's getting divorced and his lawyer suggested he go through the program instead of kicking the alcohol on his own, so it's documented…gives him a better chance of visitation with his kids."

"When does he get out?" "A few weeks…it's a four month program," Sharon says.

"And you've been going to the doctor right? Everything is fine with you and the baby?" "Yeah, of course," Sharon says, looking down into her cup as she twirls a spoon through the tan liquid, "I just…I couldn't tell you after coming home and spilling everything that had happened with Jack. That I had gone and done something just as bad."

"Okay," Mary nods, finishing her cup of tea, "Your father is tying things up at home. He'll be here this weekend as soon as he can. And he's going to help you through this, legally. We are going to get trusts set up for you and the kids. So nothing like this ever happens again."

"Okay," Sharon says, her voice thick.

"I want you to promise me…promise me that you won't shut us out again. We are never going to judge you or stop loving you Sharon, you're our little girl. We love you and all we want is for you to have a good life."

"I know," Sharon says, lifting her eyes to look at her mother, green meeting green, "I promise."

"Good. Now…it's about one. Why don't you go upstairs and lay down for a bit? I'll run out to the store and pick up some groceries. I'll be back before you need to go get Emily."

"Mom you don't have to do that." "I want to," Mary assures her daughter, helping her up out of her chair before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Sharon sighs and leans into her mother's hold, her forehead resting against her chin, "I will never stop wanting to take care of my baby."

"Thank you…for everything."

"Don't thank me yet," Mary says before nudging Sharon towards the stairs. She waits to hear the bedroom door shut before she picks up the phone and dials her husband's office, "Hi Cheryl, it's Mary; Can I talk to him for a minute?...Thank you."

Mary mills around the kitchen as she waits for her husband to pick up the other end of the phone, finding the car keys and part of a list Sharon had put together.

"How's she doing?" Bill's deeper voice rumbles through the phone as the line connects. Mary sighs as she walks through the kitchen, taking inventory as she adds onto the list.

"I don't know. I'm worried about her..." Mary admits, "And that scares me. We've never had to worry about Sharon before."

"She's not infallible, Mar." "I know, I'm not saying she is but..." Mary sighs as she leans her shoulder against the fridge, closing her eyes, "She's so upset. I think Jack coming back yesterday just really...shook everything loose. I don't know how she's been hiding this for all these years." "How's Emily?" Bill inquires.

"She's at a friend's house right now. I think Sharon has enough in her to make sure that Emily was okay before anything else."

"Good," Bill sighs, "I am finishing things up today and I'm going to take the 3:10 out tomorrow...so I should be there by dinner time and we can talk more then."

"Okay," Mary nods, "I love you - I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too. Call me if anything changes before then."

"I will," Mary agrees before hanging up and grabbing her finished list, heading out of the house to start her errands.

* * *

[TBC]


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes:** My birthday present to you guys - a second chapter today!

* * *

"So, what can we expect today?" Sharon asks a couple weeks later as she sits in the passenger seat of the car. Her father had insisted on driving them to the court house, even though she assured him that she was fine driving.

"Well, provided that Jack hasn't changed his mind to contest. Probably a judgement pending completion of to do items on both your parts."

"The paternity tests and selling the house?"

"Right."

"If he contests?" Sharon asks, picking at a piece of lint on the bottom of her dress.

"Depends what he contests. It could possibly be just mediation to decide a more amicable split of resources...if he contests the actual divorce it could mean a longer case, interviewing friends, family members, etcetera," Bill explains. He reaches over and covers Sharon's hand, squeezing, "It'll be okay."

"I know," Sharon nods, turning her hand over in her father's with a small smile. They pull into the courthouse parking lot and Bill finds them a spot close to the door. Sharon gets out of the car and straightens out her dress, wincing as the baby digs a foot into her rib as she hikes her purse over her shoulder. Bill holds the door open for her as they make their way in, heading for the smaller family court rooms.

Sharon's heels clack gently against the tiles as she makes her way to the front of the court room, taking a seat at one of the tables before setting her bag on the floor next to her. Bill takes the seat next to her, unpacking the paperwork he had put together and reviewing everything as they wait. Sharon turns and looks over her shoulder when she hears the door open again a few minutes later, offering a small sad smile at Jack as he comes in. Jack returns her smile before taking his place at the opposite table, the small group waiting in silence for a few more minutes before the bailiff calls for them to rise.

Sharon takes a deep breath and stands, swallowing hard as she looks at the judge. Luckily there wasn't much overlap between the family and criminal courts so she didn't know the judge presiding over their divorce. Sharon sits quietly, occasionally picking at her thumbnail as they talk through the agreements that she and Jack had made. She felt weak for having to call her father. Jack had the ability to defend himself, not that either of them were putting up much of a fight anymore.

After reviewing the agreements the judge clears his throat as he gathers their paperwork together before addressing her and Jack.

"I believe that the separation agreements that you have brought with you today are in good standing. I would like to see you again in three months to review the resolution of the pending agreements, namely paternity of involved children, and the sale of remaining property," He says to them. Sharon nods quietly, sitting up a little more as Jack nods as well. She jumps slightly as the gavel meets it's block once the judge stands, "Court is adjourned for today."

Everyone in the room stands as the judge leaves. Sharon makes her way over to Jack's table, her nails tapping gently against the wood. Jack looks up from packing his things away, his brow arching silently.

"Thank you," Sharon murmurs.

"I don't want to fight anymore...we've spent the last three and a half years fighting," Jack says as he closes his briefcase, "You're meeting with the real estate agent later?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, "Supposed to approve the final listing...sounds like she's already got some interest already."

"Let me know if you need anything," Jack says, "I'm going to be at the office."

"I will," Sharon says, squeezing his bicep for a moment before letting go and meeting Bill at the door to the court room.

"What time are you supposed to meet the realtor?" Bill asks.

"Just after lunch, one I think," Sharon says as she follows him out to the car, "The office is close to the house."

"Do you want to pick some lunch on the way home?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sharon smiles. She makes her way around the passenger side of the car, climbing into her seat. She runs her hand over her belly, as she thinks about what she wants, "Chinese?"

"Sure just tell me where to go," Bill smiles.

Later in the evening Sharon rests her head on her hand as she sits at the kitchen table with her parents, going over paperwork and bills.

"So, if we accept the offer I'd make $10,000 on the house after closing..." Sharon says as she reviews the papers she'd received from the realtor, "The money that I would make would cover the cost of the paternity tests for both of the kids. And leave enough left over for a rent deposit for another house or an apartment. But there wouldn't be enough for anything to put down on a car. They said that's about the best we can expect to get on the house especially considering that we haven't really made any improvements. The only reason we're even making money is the fact that property values went up."

"Use the extra money to put something down on a car. Your father and I will take care of any upfront housing costs."

"Mom you guys can't do that," Sharon protests.

"Why not?"

"It's too much money. You've already spent enough..."

"If you take what you make from the house you can pay off most of a car," Bill argues back, "I want you and the kids to live in a safe neighborhood in a decent house. You don't have the credit right now to get something that doesn't have bars on the windows."

"I am so tired of depending on people for money," Sharon snaps. She pushes herself away from the table and begins to pace the kitchen, "Nothing Jack and I ever did after he graduated from Law School was ever able to stand on one income. I completely lost my footing after he left. I had to cash a check from Andy, who has his own stack of problems a mile high, in order to keep a roof over our head and stop bill collectors from showing up on my doorstep. I had to run to you and Dad…I don't want to take anymore. I can't."

"You're not taking anything," Mary assures Sharon.

"How am I not!? You want to put a down payment on a house for me, you want to set up trusts for me and the kids…"

"We are _giving_ these things to you because you're our daughter, and we love you and our grandchildren."

"What if," Bill interjects, "Let's forget the trust for you. We'll set them up for the kids. _If_ you let us help you with a down payment for the house. You don't even have to take it as a gift…you can pay it back. Whenever you want, no interest."

"Daddy…" Sharon sighs, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

"You have always, _always_ wanted to do things yourself. And you've done a great job so far…just let us help…this once."

"This one time…and I pay you back the money," Sharon says.

"Deal," Bill says, holding his hand out. Sharon sighs and takes a deep breath, shaking his hand back, "Now will you look at these listings that the realtor gave you? I think there's some great deals in here and we can set up some viewings before I have to go back."

"Okay," Sharon nods, sitting back down at the table. She looks through the flyers for houses that had been given to her earlier. She pulls one out of the stack, reading the sheet a little more carefully before showing it to her parents, "This one's cute…it's in Los Feliz. It's closer to work and the school I've been sending Emily to."

"It is cute," Mary agrees as she looks at the flyer. Sharon continues looking through the stack, pulling out a couple more options. She sets the stack of papers down and looks over when she hears tiny feet shuffle into the kitchen, Emily rubbing tiredly at her eyes.

"Mamaaaa," Emily whines.

"What's wrong, my darling?" Sharon says, pushing her chair back and holding her arms out to Emily.

"I can't sleep," Emily sniffles as she climbs into Sharon's lap, her tiny body wrapping around Sharon's belly as she rests her head on her mother's shoulder. Sharon rubs her hand up Emily's back as she kisses her head gently.

"You can't? Do you want mama to come lay with you?"

"Ah huh," Emily nods.

"Okay, why don't you go get in bed? I'll be up in a second," Sharon murmurs as she squeezes her. She lets Emily down, nudging her towards the stairs. She gets up as Emily heads up the stairs, grabbing her mug off the table and taking it to the sink, "I'm going to go lay down with her for a little bit, but I'll probably end up falling asleep myself to be honest."

"That's fine, you've had a long day," Mary says. Sharon wraps her arm around her father's shoulders in a hug before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you, both of you."

"There's no need to thank us. Sleep tight," Bill tells her. Sharon pads up the stairs and sees Emily lingering in the doorway of her room, her thumb firmly plugged in her mouth.

"Thumb," Sharon reminds her. Emily pouts and pulls her thumb out of her mouth, wandering into Sharon's room and climbing into the free side of the bed. The redhead changes into her pajamas before getting into bed with Emily. The little girl shuffles closer and wraps her arms around her mother, getting comfortable before she closes her eyes.

"My mama…"

Sharon used the rest of her father's time in LA to look at houses, deciding on the one in Los Feliz. It was a small three bedroom with a small back yard and a one car garage. It needed a little bit of love, but Bill was able to use that to negotiate the price down a bit. He and Mary put a decent down payment down on the house for Sharon and the kids, arranging the closings of both of the houses to fall in order, and hiring a set of movers to get Sharon's things to the new house.

Bill went back to Connecticut to resume his practice, promising to be back when Sharon had the baby. Mary had taken him to the airport in the 1987 Camry that Sharon had purchased with most of the closing money from the house. Emily was not thrilled at the prospect of moving, spending most of her time grumping around the house when she was home from preschool. Jack had come by to get the things from the house that were distinctly his, leaving with an amicable goodbye and well wishes as he loaded the few boxes into the back of the car.

Between her mother's ever so helpful packing advice and Emily underfoot almost all the time Sharon had to pack, things were going slowly to say the least. Sharon sighs and rolls her neck as she finishes packing yet another box, taping the top shut as she hears a tumbling thunk come from the other room before Emily's tiny voice carries through the house.

"Uh oh."

"Emily Eileen, did you just knock those books over?" Sharon yells out as she pushes herself up off the couch, wincing as she stands, grabbing the side of her stomach as a sharp pain rolls through it.

"I didn't do it," Emily says as she slides into the living room on socked feet. It was a skill she had picked up a few days before and now used every opportunity to do it.

"Well it was either you or that ghost in the attic, cause Grandma's out getting more boxes," Sharon says before gasping as another sharp pain strikes her, starting from her back before radiating through her front. Emily frowns and shuffles her socks across the floor to her mother.

"Mama?" Emily asks, her tone worried.

"I'm fine," Sharon manages to ground out before she hears the car pull into the driveway, "Why don't you go get your grandma?"

"Okay," Emily nods before running outside, yelling for Mary. Sharon's knuckles turn white as she grips onto the box, a small cry of pain breaking forth. She hears Emily's feet thunking back into the house, heavier footsteps than were normal for her mother sounding behind her. Sharon turns to look her eyes widening when she sees Andy following Emily into the house.

"Andy…" Sharon whispers. He quickly rounds the couch and helps her sit back down, a frown furrowing his brow as he cups her face in his hands, searching her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"My stomach," Sharon replies. Andy checks her over before noticing a small patch of blood where she had been sitting on the couch.

"Shit," He curses under his breath before wrapping his arm around her back to help her up.

"Andy, you still say bad words," Emily reprimands.

"I know, I know," Andy says as he holds Sharon close to his body, "Monkey, do you want to go open the door to the back seat for me?"

"Yeah!" Emily says, running out to the car. Andy follows her with Sharon, helping her into the car before loading Emily into the passenger side, pushing the seat back as far as possible before heading around to the driver side.

"My mom's been staying with us," Sharon manages to get out before her jaw clenches in pain and she lets out another pained sound.

"I'll call once we get to the hospital," Andy says reaching back to off her his hand as he backs out of the driveway.

"You're not supposed to be home yet," Sharon reminds him.

"What you think you're the only one who qualifies for good behavior?" Andy says, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

"He's early," Sharon whimpers as she clutches Andy's hand, her nails digging into his skin.

"Something he did not get from my side," Andy tells her, squeezing her hand back. He looks back at her as they pause at a stop sign, "It's gonna be okay, Shar."

* * *

[TBC]


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes:** It was so great hearing from everyone after the last two chapters - please keep the reviews up. I love them!

* * *

Andy sighs as he holds Emily on his hip, shuffling his hand in his pocket to get some change. He picks up the handset of the payphone and hands it to Emily before feeding a couple quarters in and punching in Sharon's home number. He takes the handset from Emily and wedges it to his shoulder as the phone rings, waiting for the answering machine to pick up.

" _Thank you for calling the Raydor's, we're not home right now. Please leave a message after the beep and we'll get back to you as soon as we can._ "

"Hi Mrs. O'Dwyer, it's Andy Flynn…Look I stopped by the house a little while ago and Sharon wasn't doing too well. I brought her and Emily to the hospital, um, Valley Presbyterian. The doctor just came out, they're taking her back for a c-section. I'm going to go back with her and one of the nurses is going to sit with Em," Andy explains, "The procedure only takes about an hour. Again, we're at Valley Presbyterian up on the seventh floor."

"Bye, Nana!" Emily yells into the phone before Andy can hang it up. He carries her over to the nurses station and sits her down in one of the empty chairs before squatting down in front of her.

"Nurse Brown is going to sit with you while I go see Mama, okay? She's got some coloring books for you, and I'll be back in an hour."

"Mama gonna be otay?"

"Yeah, she's going to be fine," Andy nods, "I just can't take you back there with me right now."

"Otay," Emily nods. Andy presses a kiss to her forehead and thanks the nurse before heading back to the OR area. A nurse meets him at the door, buzzing him in before leading him to the changing area. He puts on the set of paper scrubs provided, tying the cap over his head before putting on the booties and face mask. The nurse leads him into Sharon's operating room, directing him to a stool placed next to the head of the bed.

Sharon had been wheeled in earlier and prepped for the surgery once they decided that was the route they were going to take. Andy takes his seat and takes her hand in his, brushing a lock of hair from her face as he smiles supportively at her.

"I called the house and left a message for your mom. Em's sitting out at the nurse's station coloring. How are you feeling?"

"I can't feel anything past the middle of my chest," Sharon tells him as she swallows and takes a deep breath, "What if something's wrong?"

"He's going to be fine," Andy murmurs, "You're going to be fine. This is all gonna be over in an hour."

"I'm glad you're here," Sharon tells him, turning her head to look at him.

"Me too," Andy smiles, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Sharon's hand tightens around his as the surgeon indicates that they were going to be starting. Andy's thumb runs over her knuckles softly as they wait, watching Sharon as she focuses on the ceiling, her ears straining to listen to the doctors and the sounds of the room. They both let a breath out as they hear the baby's first cry after a few more minutes pass, a smile finally spreading over Sharon's lips.

"Go," Sharon says after a moment, listening to him cry as they carry him off to the warming table in the corner of the room. Andy turns his head from craning to catch a glimpse of the baby and arches his eyebrow in question, "Go see him. I'm not going anywhere."

"You sure?" Andy asks. Sharon nods and squeezes his hand before letting go. Andy gets up from the stool he was sitting on, heading over to where the nurses were cleaning him up. He was surprised how big he seemed for how early he was, but he was the spitting image of Charlie when he had been born with a head full of dark brown hair and an angry look on his face as he was manhandled by the different staff members. The team checks him over, marking down all of his measurements before expertly bundling him up and plunking him in Andy's arms.

"He's okay?" Andy asks the nurse as he looks down at the crying bundle in his arms, bouncing him gently to try and calm him.

"He's doing just fine. We'll keep a closer eye on him while he's admitted but he's doing well so far," The nurse assures Andy, "If you want, spend a couple minutes with Mom, then we'll walk you two down to her recovery room while they finish stitching her up."

"Sure," Andy says, carrying the baby over to Sharon, sinking down onto the stool again and lifting the bundle for her to see. Sharon grins and lifts her hand to pull the blanket back a little bit to look at his face.

"Hi baby," Sharon coos quietly.

"They said he's doing good. They'll keep a bit of an eye on him while you're in here," Andy tells her.

"He's perfect," Sharon whispers, her finger stroking gently over his cheek.

"You think of a name?"

"Ricky?" Sharon suggests, "I was kind of sold on Richard when you mentioned it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Sharon smiles, "Richard William."

"Good choice," Andy smiles. He looks up as the nurse taps him on the shoulder, "I'm gonna go with him to your room, okay? We'll see you in a little bit."

"Okay," Sharon nods, pulling her hand back. Andy leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead before standing up and laying Ricky down in the bassinet that the nurse was standing at. He follows her down the hall to what would be Sharon's room, disrobing from the scrubs that he had been provided, throwing everything into the trash. He sits with Ricky until Sharon is wheeled in, stepping out for a moment to collect Emily. He notices that she was no longer at the nurses station but was kneeling and coloring on the floor next to a chair where a woman he could only assume was Sharon's mother was sitting.

"Mrs. O'Dwyer?" Andy asks, stepping forward. Mary looks up before closing the magazine she was reading and standing up. Andy smiles and holds his hand out to her, "Andy Flynn."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Flynn," Mary says, shaking his hand, green eyes sizing him up. Andy picks Emily up as she abandons her coloring and comes over, holding her hands up, "How's Sharon?"

"They just brought her back from surgery, her and the baby are doing fine. I can take you back to her room."

"That would be great," Mary nods.

"I have a sister?" Emily asks as they walk, holding onto Andy's shoulder. He laughs and shakes his head as he bounces her.

"No. It's still a boy," Andy tells her and Emily grumbles, her brow furrowing. Andy opens the door to Sharon's room and lets Mary in before shutting it softly.

"Mama!" Emily exclaims. Sharon smiles and holds her finger to her lips, shushing Emily.

"Hi, sweetie," Sharon whispers. Andy sets Emily on the side of the bed, making sure to keep her away from Sharon's IVs. The little girl kneels down on the bed and presses a kiss to Sharon's cheek before wrinkling her nose as she looks at Ricky.

"I said girl," Emily says in a quieter voice.

"I think you'll like him once you get to know him," Sharon says as she reaches out her free arm and putting a hand on Emily's back. Ricky was laying against her chest, his fresh pink skin resting against hers. He lets out a small sound, his fingers curling against Sharon's chest.

"He so little," Emily whispers, her own tiny hand reaching out to touch Ricky before looking up to check with Sharon.

"You're okay, just be gentle," Sharon assures her. Emily continues reaching out and rests her hand on Ricky's head, rubbing it back and forth gently.

"What happened?" Mary asks Andy.

"I stopped by the house earlier, I'd just gotten back in town this morning," Andy explains, "When I pulled into the driveway, Em came running out thinking it was you and when I got inside, Shar was practically doubled over in pain. Once we got here they checked her over and decided doing the c-section was probably going to be the best thing for both of them."

"I'm glad that you happened to come by," Mary says, "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't."

"Me too," Andy agrees.

"I don't know what she's told you," Mary comments to Andy in a low tone, "But the last few weeks have been rough, hell I think the last eight months have been rough. I don't know if you plan to swoop back in here on a sobriety horse and take Jack's place…"

"I'm not swooping anywhere," Andy says, interrupting her, "There are…a lot of conversations we need to have. And I don't know where we're going to end up. I just want to do the right thing when I can."

" _Don't_ hurt them," Mary says, her eyes flashing before she walks over to the hospital bed and smiling at Sharon. Sharon smiles up at her mom as Emily leans into her side, playing with Ricky's fingers.

"Hey," Sharon murmurs.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tingly right now," Sharon jokes, "Did I see you reading him the riot act?"

"Not at all, that's for your father to do," Mary says as she sits down on the edge of the bed, "I'll call him when I take Emily home and we'll keep packing so the movers can still come this weekend."

"Thank you," Sharon says.

"You know what you're doing right?"

"I have no idea," Sharon answers honestly, "But…you can't plan everything out."

"I don't know that I've ever heard you say that."

"Maybe it's time I start trying," Sharon shrugs. She looks over at Emily and squeezes her daughter before pressing a kiss to her head, "Nana's going to take you home and stay with you while Ricky and I are in the hospital."

"Is Andy coming?"

"Not right now, he's going to stay here with me for a while."

"No more vacation?" Emily asks looking between her mother and Andy.

"No more vacation," Andy assures Emily as he steps closer to the bed. Emily nods before kissing her mother and leaning over to press a kiss to her brother's head. Andy lifts her from the bed and presses a kiss to her cheek before setting her down on the floor. Mary gets up and shifts her purse up onto her shoulder, kissing Sharon's cheek.

"Call if anything changes."

"We will," Sharon nods. Mary takes Emily's hand in hers and walks her towards the door, holding it open for her. Emily turns around and waves at Sharon as they leave.

"Bye Mama! Bye 'Icky!" Sharon snorts and laughs, looking over at Andy with mirthful green eyes. Andy shakes his head with his own chuckle as he walks over.

"Icky? Great," Andy says with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

[TBC]


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes:** I am amazed an honored by the response to the last couple chapters - you guys are amazing and your reviews are a source of inspiration!

* * *

Sharon thanks the nurse as she wheels Ricky out of the room and down to the nursery. She sighs as she leans back against her pillows, looking over at Andy who was sitting in the chair next to her bed. She finally had a moment to look him over for the first time in four months. He looked better in general since the last time she'd seen him, more fit as well. Andy rests his head on his hand as he looks over at her, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

"Alone at last."

"For now," Sharon smiles, "How are you doing?"

"130 days sober," Andy says, a little bit of pride pushing his chest out.

"I'm proud of you," Sharon says, "It seems like your time in Ojai was good for you."

"It was," Andy agrees, "But it doesn't seem like it was too great for you."

"You being gone didn't have anything to do with it," Sharon assures him, "It's...it's been building for a long time."

"I helped contribute to it," Andy tells her, sitting up a little straighter and sighing as he leans forward, "So, you're moving."

"I am," Sharon nods, "It was part of the agreement I made with Jack. We sell the house and split any profits or debt...I found a cute little house in Los Feliz. We were supposed to be moving this weekend so I'd have a few weeks before the baby got here, but..."

"He was okay with that?"

"I think both of us were pretty broken down by the time he came back," Sharon says, "I'd already made a list of everything I wanted - that we would sell the house, he could have the car, we'd close down any credit and bank accounts that both of us were on, he would give up any claim to half of my pension from the department."

"What did he say about the kids?"

"Not too much," Sharon replies as she looks down at her hands in her lap, "He was just so...not present the last few years. I know he loves Emily, I do, but he didn't seem that surprised when he looked over that list and saw that I wanted a paternity test for both kids so I could take him off of their birth certificates. I think the only thing that placated him was that I wasn't going to be coming after him for child support or alimony."

"So a clean split?"

"Yeah for the most part," Sharon shrugs, "I feel bad, I mean my marriage fell apart...I stood up in front of my family and God and said that I was going to spend the rest of my life with Jack, that I was going to love and honor him through everything and...we fell apart."

"You tried," Andy tells her, not wanting her to beat herself up too much.

"Did I though?" Sharon asks, looking over at Andy, "I mean...we had our things. I never told him until it was too late..."

"He still made the decision to leave you and Emily. To take your money. All without knowing any of that."

"I know," Sharon nods, reaching up to catch a tear before it can fall, "It's just rough you know?"

"I know," Andy sympathizes.

"I don't know how available and ready I am right now. I don't know what you want or expect, but...I just really need to focus on the kids and myself for a while."

"Well, lucky for you it's not advised to immediately jump into a relationship when you're getting sober," Andy says. Sharon laughs softly, smiling at him. Andy smiles back and reaches out to take her hand in his, "I do appreciate you being up front with me. But I would agree that we probably should wait until we're both actually available and more emotionally stable until we pursue things more."

"You're okay with that?" Sharon asks, her thumb stroking over the back of Andy's hand. Andy nods and squeezes her hand reassuringly.

"Yeah, I've got the inside on a place in Silver Lake. It's nothing fancy, but it's closer to you and only about twenty minutes or so from our old house."

"Already?"

"Mmhm, Provenza knows a guy," Andy says with a shrug, "I'm supposed to go look at it tomorrow."

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I'll grab a room somewhere," Andy waves her off, "Plenty of places in town to lay my head for a night."

"Can I ask you a question?" Sharon says after a moment of silence.

"Of course," Andy nods.

"Do you want me to put you down on their birth certificates?" Sharon asks, "They are coming tomorrow to take DNA samples from the kids and Jack so I can take him off. But I didn't know whether or not you wanted to be put on. It's not for child support or anything like that..."

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Andy says, "I know you don't expect money or anything but I do want to help out."

"Ballet lessons," Sharon replies. Andy arches his eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"Pay for ballet lessons," Sharon repeats, "I took Emily to an open house for a dance school close to her preschool. She loved it, but I can't afford to have both of them in day care and have Emily doing something else. At least not right now."

"Yeah sure," Andy nods, "Just send me the information."

"Okay," Sharon nods, offering Andy a small smile, "And they're coming by around 11 tomorrow...Jack will be here, and I haven't told him specifically about you."

"I can hold my own," Andy assures her.

"And one last thing," Sharon says, biting her lips, her face becoming nervous.

"What?" Andy asks, his thumb brushing the back of her hand gently.

"I took a transfer at work over to FID once I get back from maternity leave," Sharon says, Andy's thumb stilling, "I'll get my Sergeant's promotion, and it'll be more regular hours. More room for advancement."

"The Rat Squad, Sharon? Come on you're better than those hard ass nerds," Andy says, "Constantly sticking their nose in places they don't belong."

"Andy..." Sharon sighs as she pulls her hand away, pushing herself into a more of a sitting position.

"Come on, they're constantly lurking in the shadows waiting for us to screw up."

"It's not a them and us thing," Sharon says, her eyes narrowing, "The entire point of PSB is supposed to be keeping the LAPD honest, and FID makes sure that officers aren't abusing their power. You have to admit that public relations haven't been the greatest the last few years, if anything they've gotten worse…"

"And you're going to change that?" Andy says. Sharon flashes a hurt look across her face before she steels herself. Andy sighs and shakes his head as he watches her, "That didn't come out right."

"No, I suspect it didn't."

"Look, you're great at your job, you're a great cop…I just think you'd be wasting that working in FID."

"I don't," Sharon replies, "I didn't get the nickname Rulebook for nothing."

"No, you didn't," Andy says. He runs his hand through his hair and looks over at her, "You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Sharon nods, "I can't…I can't leave them behind, but I can still do a lot of good in FID."

"Okay," Andy says. He yawns before turning his wrist to look at his watch, "I should probably get going…let you get some rest."

"You don't have to run off," Sharon says as her own yawn eeks its way out.

"Yes, I do," Andy says as he stands, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, "Before you know it they'll be back with him again to be fed."

"Thank you for being here today," Sharon murmurs as she looks up at him, reaching up to stroke his cheek. They both look into each other's eyes for a moment before Sharon pulls her hand back and covers her mouth as she yawns again, "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Andy says with a smile, "I'll be back in the morning. Do you need me to bring you anything?"

"No, my mom's bringing a bag with her when she brings Emily."

"Okay," Andy squeezes her hand once more before heading out of the room, turning the overhead light off. Sharon sighs and shuffles down in her bed with a wince, closing her eyes as she settles in. The next morning Emily and Mary make their way back to the hospital and Emily climbs up onto the bed settling between Sharon's legs as she finally gets to hold her brother.

Sharon runs her fingers through Emily's hair, working out a couple knots in the curls as she watches over her shoulder as Ricky stares up at his sister with wide brown eyes. The three women look up as a knock sounds on the door before Jack pokes his head in. Sharon waves him in, watching as he steps inside with a court recorder and one of the hospital doctors.

"Morning," Jack says, lingering at the end of the bed.

"Morning," Sharon responds, taking Ricky from Emily and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. Her eyes flick to the door when Andy steps in, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly as Jack glares at him, finally putting everything together. The clerk walks around the room with the doctor as the four of them get samples taken from them before they are documented and sealed up.

"Results can take up to a month depending on how busy the lab is, but I would plan on about a week," The doctor informs them.

"And everyone along with the court will receive a copy of the results," The clerk finishes, "But otherwise that's it."

"Thank you," Sharon says. The clerk and the doctor leave and Jack shrugs his jacket back on before checking Andy in the shoulder on the way out of the room, a dark look in his eye.

"Good luck," He mumbles, "They're your problem now."

Andy quickly turns and slams Jack into the wall, twisting his arm up his back, leaning into him, "You better watch it, I'm pretty sure what you just did could be construed as assaulting an officer. And I better never hear you refer to them as a problem again."

"Andy!" Sharon calls sharply. Andy let's Jack go, shoving him none too gently from the room. He runs his hand through his hair before turning around. Sharon narrows her eyes at him and he raises his hands.

"Sorry," He apologizes. Emily stands up on the bed and reaches her hands up to him. Andy smiles and picks her up, setting her on his hip, "So what do you think of Ricky, Monkey?"

"He's okay," Emily shrugs looking up at Andy, "Can we go get chocolate milk?"

"Sure, should we get something for Mama and Nana too?"

"Yeah!" Emily nods, looking back at her mother and grandmother, "What do you want? Chocolate milk or juice?"

"I could actually really use a coffee," Sharon says.

"Nana?"

"I think a chocolate milk sounds great," Mary smiles at Emily. Emily grins back before looking at Andy.

"Let's go!"

"Of course, your highness," Andy says, carrying Emily out of the room.

* * *

[TBC]


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes:** Thanks so much for the continued reviews and support!

* * *

Andy helped Mary finish packing up Sharon's house and the basics unpacked and put together before Ricky and Sharon were released from the hospital. Sharon's father had gotten back the day before, happy to meet his new grandson but not entirely too thrilled to meet Andy.

Sharon thanks Andy as he offers a hand to help her out of the car as he holds Ricky's car seat in the crook of his arm. He keeps a hand near her back as they head inside, shutting the door behind them. Sharon drops her duffle bag on the floor before shuffling into the living room as she hears Emily's tiny feet running across the floor.

"Mama!" Emily says, climbing onto the couch and into Sharon's arms, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too. Did you leave Nana and Grandpa outside?" Sharon asks as she hugs Emily tight, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Yes! Guess what they got me?"

"What did they get you?" Sharon inquires, mouthing a thank you to Andy as he sets the car seat on the coffee table.

"A swing set!"

"They did? That was very nice of them," Sharon comments, her eyes rolling internally. Andy chuckles at her less than amused look and shakes his head before grabbing Sharon's bag and taking it to the laundry for her. Bill and Mary make their way in from the back yard, greeting Andy as they walk in.

"Everything go alright at the hospital?"

"Yeah," Andy nods with a smile, "They're both in the living room right now."

Andy finishes loading the washer before shutting the lid and heading into the living room. He puts a hand on Sharon's shoulder, smiling at her when she looks up.

"I gotta run out for a little bit, I'm supposed to be able to pick up Nic and Charlie for a couple hours. I was going to take them to the park."

"Okay," Sharon smiles softly, "Have fun with them."

"I'll be back after, maybe I can pick up dinner on the way back."

"Sounds great. Em, Andy has to go for a little bit. Why don't you say bye?" Sharon prompts. Emily hops up on the couch, leaning over the back to give Andy a hug. He presses a kiss to her head before letting her go. He says goodbye to Bill and Mary before heading out of the house.

Sharon lets go of Emily and leans forward to pick Ricky up as he starts to fuss. She presses a kiss to his cheek and winces as she tries to stand up, feeling her incision pull. Bill offers her a hand up off the couch and Sharon thanks him, bouncing Ricky gently as she heads down the hallway. She lays him out on the changing table in the corner of her room undressing him enough to change his diaper.

"Such a big boy," Sharon murmurs as she playfully tickles his feet before buttoning him back up in his onesie. She takes a look around the baby things in the room, noting that everything had been fully stocked and a blue and green wardrobe for Ricky had sprouted up in the little dresser drawers. Sharon smiles when she sees a tiny Dodgers t-shirt on top of everything.

"Andy picked up everything," Mary pipes up from the doorway, "After they got everything moved into the house, he went out and probably bought out an entire store. I told him he didn't need to, but…"

"He wanted to," Sharon murmurs, shutting the drawer before turning to look at her mother, offering her a small smile, "I appreciate everything that you and Dad have done for us. And I know that you're wary of Andy…"

"We just don't want you getting hurt again."

"I know," Sharon nods, settling down in the rocking chair with Ricky. She gets him fed and laid down in his crib, turning the baby monitor on before grabbing the handset and carrying it out to the living room. She pauses as she hears a knock at the door, detouring to answer it. Sharon smiles and leans her shoulder against the door, "You know you don't really have to knock…I mean you've done laundry here, I think you've earned the right to walk in."

Sharon pauses in her teasing noticing the manilla folder clutched in Andy's hands and a haunted look on his face, "What's wrong? What are you doing back so soon?"

"He told her," Andy says. Sharon steps out of the house and onto the porch, pulling the door closed most of the way.

"What?" Sharon asks, unsure what he was talking about.

"Jack, he told Vicky about what happened between us. He must have gone after he left the hospital the other day," Andy says, handing her the papers, "He told her and she's taking me for everything now and applying for sole custody of the kids."

"He _what_?" Sharon says as she takes the papers from him and starts to look through them, her eyes widening at the demands being made, "Oh my god…"

"I hadn't had the chance to tell her yet…I didn't know how…" Sharon directs Andy to take a seat on the top step of the porch before sitting down next to him. She continues looking at the papers before handing them back to him.

"You should probably call Gavin as soon as you can. It looks like they want to be back in court by the beginning of next week."

"This is…if I fight this she's going to bankrupt me in legal fees. But…she's trying to take my kids away from me," Andy says as he looks over at Sharon.

"I know," Sharon says, reaching up to run her fingers through Andy's hair. She rests her hand on the back of his neck and strokes her thumb over his skin, "But you need to fight this…your kids deserve to have you in their lives. Maybe you screwed up as a husband…but you're a good father."

"She's going to pull you into this," Andy warns Sharon.

"I wouldn't expect any less," Sharon says, "I'm not thrilled. But you know I'll do what I can to help."

"You are…" Andy shakes his head as he looks at her, "I don't deserve someone like you in my life."

"I don't think that either of us are in an emotional position to discuss what we deserve right now," Sharon smiles. She pulls her hand back and sighs, flicking her hair over her shoulder, "Why don't you go to a meeting? I'll call Gavin and make an appointment for you tomorrow, and I will call in an order to that Italian place on Santa Monica for pick up at…530?"

"Sure," Andy nods, sighing as he looks down at the ground. Sharon runs her hand up his back, resting it in between his shoulder blades.

"I might even be able to get rid of my parents for the rest of the day," Sharon says as she nudges her weight against him. Andy laughs and shakes his head before standing up and offering a hand out to Sharon. She thanks him as he helps her up and takes the folder from him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before heading back inside. She sets the folder on the kitchen counter and picks up her phone to call Gavin.

"Pershing and Goldman, Gavin Baker speaking."

"Hey, it's me," Sharon says as she wedges the phone to her shoulder.

"Hey, you!" Gavin says when he processes Sharon's voice, "How are you? How's the baby?"

"He's fine, we just got home earlier today. He's sleeping right now," Sharon says with a small smile before her expression becomes more serious as she looks at the folder in front of her, "Listen, Andy got some papers from Vicky today when he went to go pick up the kids. Jack apparently made a visit and told her about Andy and I...and she's going after everything now. And I mean _everything_. She didn't let him take them after either."

"Shit," Gavin curses and Sharon hears papers shuffling around on his desk, "I got something from her lawyer this morning, I hadn't had a chance to look at it yet."

"Can you fit him in tomorrow?" Sharon asks.

"I should be able to," Gavin says, "Um...tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...can he be here at 830?"

"I'll make sure he is," Sharon says, "Thank you."

"No problem," Gavin says, "How is everything going between you two?"

"I don't know," Sharon says as she leans against the counter, "It's awkward...I mean he's great, he's attentive, he seems committed to being sober, but we have two kids together and we...know nothing about each other. I don't know if I even want to touch him sometimes, and then there's other times where..."

"Where what?" Gavin asks after she trails off. Sharon shrugs as her cheeks color.

"You know...," Sharon murmurs, "Anyway, we're just trying to figure everything out. I told him I didn't want to get into anything before both of our divorces were final...so I guess we can focus on being friends right now."

"You know I'm here if you ever need anything, right? Shoulder to cry on, baby sitter...anything."

"I know," Sharon nods, "Thank you."

"I gotta run, my next appointment is here. Will I be seeing you tomorrow morning?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Well if you come with him, bring those cute kids of yours."

"You'll regret saying that if I bring them," Sharon smiles, "Thank you Gavin."

"Bye, Shar." Sharon hangs up the phone and sighs as she runs her fingers through her hair before starting to search around the kitchen for takeout menus. She finds them stuffed away in a drawer, the one for the Italian restaurant on top. Plucking it out of the drawer Sharon carries it to the living room where Emily was regaling her grandparents with a tale starring her Barbies.

"Were you guys planning on staying for dinner?" Sharon asks her mother.

"If you need us to," Mary replies, leaning back against the couch as she looks up at her daughter from her spot on the floor.

"Andy's going to be back later, I think we should be fine for the night," Sharon says, hoping that her parents would take the bait and vacate for the evening, "You could take Dad to that restaurant you'd mentioned trying out last week."

"You sure?" Mary asks, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I am," Sharon nods.

"Okay. We'll probably head out here soon then so we can get to the hotel and change."

Within the next hour Sharon sees her parents out of the house and calls in their dinner order. She lets Emily back out into the yard as she sits under the tree on a blanket with Ricky, watching as Emily runs around her new playset. Sharon sighs as she leans out from under the tree, letting the sun warm her face as her eyes slip closed.

Andy returns a little after six with their dinner, walking into the house instead of knocking. He sets everything out on the counter before getting down plates and silverware. Sharon nudges Emily inside, the yawning little girl shuffling her way to the table. She sets Ricky down in his high chair before helping Andy set the table, nudging him gently with her shoulder as they stand at the counter together for a moment.

"Hmm?" Andy hums as he dishes out some salad for Emily.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"That," Sharon says as she gestures towards the table. Andy looks up from his task, his eyes crinkling with a smile as he takes in the scene. Emily was sitting up on her knees on her chair, leaning over Ricky's high chair and dangling a toy in front of him. After a moment Emily looses her grip on the toy and accidentally drops it on Ricky's face, sending the boy into a fit of tears.

The little girl's eyes widen and she darts a look up at Sharon to see if she was in trouble. Sharon rolls her eyes with a small smile and carries two plates over to the table, setting them down on the table before righting Emily in her chair and pushing her in. Andy sets his own plate down on the table before reaching down and picking Ricky up, pressing a kiss to his head as he shushes him. He roots around in the highchair for a moment before finding his pacifier and putting it in his mouth, wiggling it to get him to take it.

"There you go," Andy says after Ricky latches on and stops crying, blinking up at him with tearful eyes, "You're gonna have to get used to that you know? By next year she's not going to be dropping things on your face on accident."

"Andy!" Sharon reprimands as he takes a seat at the table, flashing a grin in her direction. He settles Ricky into one arm before picking up his fork and starting to eat.

* * *

[TBC]


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes:** Thanks again for all your reviews and comments! I will remind that I'm not a lawyer and never had to go through a custody battle, so everything that I'm writing about has been from websites (and maybe Mrs. Doubtfire)

* * *

Sharon hands Andy a glass of soda water before sitting down on the couch next to him. She leans her elbow against the back of the couch and rests her head on her hand. Andy takes a sip out of the glass before sighing and dropping his head back against the cushion.

"I take it it didn't go too well?" It had been a couple weeks since Andy had been served updated papers from Vicky. He and Gavin had met with her and her lawyer a few times in order to try and work on things. From what Sharon had been hearing, things hadn't been going too well.

"No," Andy mumbles, taking another drink, "After the meeting this morning, Gavin doesn't think that she's going to accept any bargain…We'd be better off taking what she's offering and we can reevaluate custody after a period of time."

"Where did you guys end up?"

"Every other weekend, I pick them up at two on Saturday, I drop them off at noon on Sunday. Holidays are at Vicky's discretion. If I can't make a pick up at the specified time, she can insist that I forfeit my weekend with them. I am required to meet with a social worker every other month to make sure that I am maintaining a residence fit for children, if I should fail an evaluation I forfeit visits until I can bring myself back up to standards," Andy relays, his eyes closed, "I pay standard child support along with education and child care expenses, quarter of the mortgage, and they stay on my insurance. Standard alimony for 10 years or until she remarries. So, basically I'm broke until the kids turn 18."

"Oh Andy," Sharon murmurs, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair, scratching her fingers along his scalp.

"Less than 24 hours…twice a month. How am I supposed to be a father to my kids in only 44 hours a month?"

"I know you'll use every minute you can with them," Sharon tells him.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to afford a place fit for kids after all of the money goes out…"

"I can help you run the numbers tomorrow before you go in," Sharon offers, "Worst case scenario you end up living in the guest room."

"You'd do that for me?" Andy says, looking over at Sharon.

"Don't sound so thankful yet, you haven't heard me sing in the shower," Sharon smiles, "I'm sure if it came to it we could work something out."

"Thanks," Andy smiles back slightly.

"How was work?"

"Same old, picking up scum on the streets under the pretense of making LA safer. Oh wait, I'm not actually doing that because my qualifying exam isn't until Friday. I'm a glorified desk monkey."

"You are making LA safer," Sharon tells Andy, "Don't doubt that. And you're not a desk monkey."

Sharon looks over at the coffee table as she hears Ricky's cries filter through the baby monitor. She puts a hand on Andy's shoulder as he moves to get up, waiting for a moment to see if he was going to fall back to sleep. Andy continues standing up and sets his glass down, "I'll get him."

"Thank you," Sharon murmurs, watching as Andy lumbers down the hall towards her bedroom. She looks over again when she hears his voice filter through the baby monitor.

"Hey buddy, what are all the tears about? Hmm?" Ricky's cries quiet to whimpers as Andy picks him up, "There you go. See you're fine. I bet Mama even fed you just before I got here too, hmm?"

Sharon smiles as she hears his voice get a little quieter as she assumes he walks over to the rocking chair.

"Did you have a good day today? Your sister didn't drop anything on your face again did she? Gotta watch out for that one, she's sneaky like your mom." Sharon smiles as she hears a happy coo from Ricky as Andy talks to him. Andy continues to talk in a quiet voice to Ricky until the little boy falls back to sleep. He reappears in the living room a couple moments later and Sharon smiles at him.

"Crisis avoided?"

"Yeah," Andy laughs, sitting back down on the couch. He looks over at Sharon and lets out a soft sigh, "How have you been doing? I feel like we've been focusing on me lately."

"I'm doing okay," Sharon nods and smiles, "Things are finally looking up. I don't feel like there's such a…weight on my chest."

"Good," Andy smiles.

"Letterman should be on, if you wanted to hang out for a bit and watch," Sharon offers, "I get a way better signal down here than I did in the last house."

"Sure," Andy nods. Sharon gets up from the couch and walks over to the tv, turning it on before adjusting the rabbit ears on top once she gets it turned to the right channel. She makes her way back over to the couch and sits down next to Andy before picking up her drink again. Andy rests his arm on the couch behind her and settles in to watch.

By the end of the episode Sharon was passed out against Andy's shoulder, sleeping soundly. He slowly disentangle himself from her and turns the tv off before clipping the baby monitor onto his pants and lifting her carefully into his arms. He carries her down the hallway to her room, settling her in bed before turning the monitor off and setting it on her bedside table. He pulls the blankets up and presses a soft kiss to her head, checking on each of the kids before heading out of the house and locking the door behind himself.

Andy tears his eyes away from the ceiling of his apartment and looks at the clock as his phone starts to ring in the middle of the night. He reaches out to pick up the receiver, pressing it to his ear with a soft grunted greeting.

"You tucked me in," Sharon says in absence of a greeting.

"You fell asleep on me," Andy replies.

"Sorry," Sharon apologizes, "I don't remember the last time I made it all the way through Letterman without falling asleep."

"It's okay. What are you doing up?"

"I just fed Ricky and put him back down," Sharon answers, "It took me a bit to realize I didn't get to bed on my own."

"How's he doing?"

"Fine, just his usual middle of the night feeding," Sharon says, "Are you coming by before work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, did you want me to bring anything?"

"No, I went to the store yesterday. Just yourself, and your checkbook if you did want some help looking over those numbers."

"It would be nice to have another eye look over it," Andy says, "I'll see you around 830?"

"Sure, see you then."

"Night, Shar."

"Night, Andy," Sharon murmurs before hanging up the phone. Andy hangs the phone up and drops his head back to his pillow with a sigh, looking at the empty side of the bed. It was so quiet.

Andy makes his way into Sharon's house the next morning, just a couple minutes after 830. He hears Emily babbling away in the kitchen as the smell of pancakes and coffee assaults his nose. He shuts the door behind himself before heading into the kitchen, setting his duffel bag down on one of the empty chairs.

"Morning," Sharon greets from the stove, throwing a smile in Andy's direction.

"Morning," Andy smiles. Emily's eyes widen and a grin spreads across her face before she climbs down from her stool next to Sharon.

"Dada!" She squeals as she runs over to him, coming to a halt after a moment after she realizes what she'd said, "Oh…I didn't…"

"It's okay," Andy assures her, taking a couple steps towards her and picking her up. He cradles her in his arms and presses a kiss to her cheek, "You can call me whatever you want."

"I can?" Emily asks as she settles into Andy's arms.

"Mmhm," Andy nods, squeezing her close, "Whatever you want."

"Do you want to be my dada?" Emily asks, her brow furrowed much in the way that Sharon's did when she asked a question.

"I would love to be your dada," Andy says with a smile, "Do you want me to be your dada?"

"Ah huh!" Emily nods enthusiastically.

"Sounds like we have a deal then," Andy smiles and sets Emily on the counter before peaking over Sharon's shoulder, "Pancakes?"

"Emily's request," Sharon smiles and pours out another pancake into the pan. Emily reaches her hand into the blueberries and sprinkles them over the wet batter, "Good job baby. Um, coffee cups are above the pot. There's half and half in the fridge."

"Thanks," Andy says, pressing a kiss to Sharon's temple before going to grab himself a cup, "Did you need a top off?"

"Sure," Sharon says, "I think I left my mug on the table."

Andy pours himself a full mug before going over to the table to top off Sharon's. He puts the pot back and takes a sip of the hot liquid as he pats Emily on the head.

"You're a pretty good helper."

"Mama says I put the blueberries perfect!"

"They look pretty perfect to me," Andy smiles, "Did you sleep good last night? You looked pretty cozy when I checked in on you."

"Mmhm," Emily nods, "I didn't get up once."

"Well good for you," Andy says. Emily grabs his hand after a moment, her nose wrinkling as she studies his palm and fingers, "What are you looking at?"

"Why are you wearing a ring? Boys don't wear rings."

"They do some times," Andy says as Emily studies the gold band around his pinky, "And you know what it reminds me of?"

"What?"

"A pinky promise I made a cute little monkey," Andy whispers in her ear. Emily grins up at him as she continues to hold onto his hand.

"Really?"

"Really," Andy nods. Emily presses a kiss to his ring and giggles before letting his hand go. Andy pinches her cheek playfully before getting plates down to set the table. Ricky was snoozing away in his rocker, suckling lazily on his pacifier. Andy sets the plates down before leaning down and kissing his cheek. He grabs a juice glass for Emily and fills it part of the way with orange juice for her.

"Emily's getting picked up at 930 by a friend for the morning," Sharon tells Andy, "If you brought your stuff with you."

"I did," Andy nods, taking the plate of pancakes from Sharon and carrying it to the table, "What are you doing with your friend Em?"

"We going to the park!" Emily says as she climbs up into her chair before frowning and attempting to push Ricky's chair further across the table. Sharon rolls her eyes as she walks over with the bacon, pulling Ricky closer to her side of the table. Andy arches his eyebrow as he sits down.

"We're having one of our I don't want to be near the baby days," Sharon explains as she sits down, tucking her foot under herself, "Their co-existence is still very much a work in progress."

"Ah," Andy nods. He gets Emily a pancake and a piece of bacon, putting a little syrup on the pancake.

"Thank you," Emily smiles before picking up her fork and knife, attempting to cut into the pancake by herself.

"Do you want me to help you?" Andy asks as he gets his own pancakes.

"No, I got it," Emily says.

"They have been working on using utensils at her preschool," Sharon tells Andy, grabbing a single pancake for herself and a couple pieces of bacon, "It's…a bit of a mess some times, but she seems to be getting the hang of it."

"No kidding?"

"Nope," Sharon smiles, "They teach them a lot of practical skills and really advocate for independence."

"I thought that was just something she got from you," Andy teases. Sharon laughs and rolls her eyes. Emily slowly manages to cut through her pancake by the time the doorbell rings. Sharon wipes off her face with a damp rag along with her hands before walking her to the door. She puts her backpack on and presses a kiss to her head.

"Have a good day at the park, pumpkin," Sharon says.

"I will. Bye, Dada!" Emily calls out. Andy sticks his head around the corner and waves at Emily.

"Bye, Em." Sharon shuts the door behind Emily and makes her way back to the kitchen.

"More coffee?" Sharon offers.

"Sure," Andy says as he cleans up their plates, bundling the leftovers to go into the fridge. He sits back down at the table with Sharon and sighs as he digs out the financial items he'd brought with, "You sure you don't mind giving me a hand with this?"

"Not at all," Sharon shakes her head, taking a seat next to Andy, "Would it surprise you to find out that I enjoy numbers? They don't tend to lie."

"No," Andy shakes his head and smiles. He opens up his checkbook and sorts out the papers, "Here is what I have right now, this is my last pay stub, no overtime. This is what we agreed on with Vicky. These are my general monthly expenses."

"Okay," Sharon nods, reaching over to grab a pencil and a clean piece of paper before starting to go through the numbers with Andy. After combing through everything a couple times Sharon scratches the top of her head with the eraser of the pencil and sighing as she looks at Andy.

"Doesn't look good does it?"

"Not really," Sharon says as she looks back down at what they'd come up with for final numbers, "You'd have to clock overtime every week in order to make all the ends meet."

"I could pick up a second job somewhere…" Andy suggests, "Security, delivery…"

"You already work forty hours a week minimum, if you add another twenty on top of that you're never going to have time for the kids," Sharon tells him as she grabs her own checkbook before typing a few numbers into the calculator they had been using. She writes down a few more things before turning the paper towards him.

"What's this?" Andy says as he looks at the number she had circled.

"If you did move in here," Sharon says, "And split the mortgage and utilities with me, that's what you would have left over."

"That's half of your mortgage payment?"

"My parents helped me out with the down payment," Sharon says, "I wouldn't be opposed to it. It would take some work, but..."

"Sharon, I can't ask you to do this."

"You're not asking me," Sharon says as she leans over to pick Ricky up as he starts to fuss, "It would take some getting used to, but I don't think it sounds completely insane. We'd basically just be roommates."

"Still," Andy says, sighing as he looks back at the paper. Sharon presses a kiss to Ricky's head and rubs her hand up his back gently, as she watches Andy.

"You don't have to say anything right now, think about it," She tells him. Andy sighs again and nods, folding everything up and putting it in his bag. He looks at his watch before getting up.

"I should get going."

"What time are you off?" Sharon asks as Andy drains his coffee before leaning down to kiss Ricky's head.

"Seven," Andy says as he rinses out his cup before putting it in the drying rack.

"You coming by after?"

"We'll see what time I actually get out of there, I was going to grab a meeting tonight if I could," Andy says as he picks up his bag and sighs, looking down at the floor. Sharon looks up at him with sympathetic eyes, reaching out to touch his hand. Andy's lips were pursed and a frustrated look had settled over his face.

"Hey," Sharon murmurs. Andy looks up at her, raising his brow, "Breathe, go to work, think about it. This all doesn't have to get solved in a day."

"I know, I just want things to go back to normal."

"I think normal is changing," Sharon tells him before Ricky lets out a frustrated yell, not wanting his pacifier anymore. She stands and presses a kiss to his cheek, "I'm going to go feed him. Have a good day at work. Thank you for coming by this morning."

"Thanks for breakfast, you two have a good day," Andy says, leaning down to kiss Ricky's head once more before heading out of the house.

* * *

[TBC]


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes:** Thanks for all the great reviews - I'm glad everyone is enjoying things. Question for readers: Would you prefer that this fic get broken off into a sequel at some point or continue on under this title? Nothing happening yet, just curious as to preference.

* * *

Sharon sighs as she opens the door to the house, letting Emily run in ahead of her as she carries Ricky in.

"I want you to change out of that dress!" Sharon yells out as Emily darts down the hallway to her room. She drops her keys into the bowl and notices Andy's there as she shuts the door, "Andy?"

"In the kitchen," Andy calls out. Sharon makes her way into the kitchen, her heels clacking against the hardwood floor. Andy was standing at the kitchen counter kneading a ball of dough, flour spread out across the clean surface. He looks up from his task and smiles at her, pausing for a moment as his eyes travel over her form. She was dressed in a black, cap sleeve, a-line dress that stopped just above her knees and a pair of nude heels, "How was church?"

"It was good," Sharon says, laying Ricky down in his chair on the table and strapping him in, "What are you up to?"

"I thought I would make Sunday dinner," Andy says as he resumes kneading.

"What are you making?" Sharon asks as she walks over to where he was standing, taking in what was laid out around the kitchen, most of it things she definitely did not keep in the house.

"Homemade ravioli," Andy replies as he finishes with the dough, cutting it into quarters before starting to shape it into strips to go through the roller, "My mom's chicken and spinach filling."

"You own a pasta roller?"

"Yeah," Andy nods with a smile, "I bought it when I first moved to LA, couldn't find Italian food around here for shit."

"Why are you doing this?" Sharon asks, "I mean I'm not complaining…"

"Consider it my try out for being a roommate," Andy says, stopping again and giving his full attention to Sharon, "I've been thinking a lot about your offer this week. I've looked over the numbers multiple times…and you're right. Right now it's the best solution. I can spend more time with Emily and Ricky, I don't have to worry about the social worker, I can save some money, and best part…"

"What's that?" Sharon raises her eyebrow.

"I get to spend time with you too," Andy smiles. Sharon rolls her eyes with a smile and shakes her head.

"You're such a flirt."

"Got you to smile," Andy says, "If you'll still have me, I'd love to move in to the guest room."

"Of course," Sharon nods, "I have one further stipulation…"

"Oh?" Andy asks, his brows raising.

"One night a month, we get a babysitter and go out," Sharon says, looking Andy in the eye, "It doesn't have to be a date, but I want to get to know you better without Ricky pulling at my hair and Emily underfoot."

"Oh, okay," Andy nods, a small smile coming over his face, "That sounds nice."

"Good," Sharon smiles, "I'm going to go change out of this dress and get Ricky put down for a nap. How much longer do you have on dinner?"

"Ah…forty five minutes until I get the pasta filled?"

"Okay," Sharon says, leaning over to press a kiss to Andy's cheek before picking Ricky up and carrying him down the hallway. She peeks into Emily's room and finds the little girl passed out on her bed in her underwear, her dress bunched up on the ground. Sharon steps in to pick it up and drapes it over the footboard before pulling the door shut behind her as she continues to her room. She gets Ricky fed and laid down for a nap before changing into an LAPD t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She pulls her hair back on her way back down the hall, sighing as she pads back into the kitchen, "Nap time, best part of the day. They were being more than ornery this morning."

"Oh yeah?" Andy asks.

"Mmm," Sharon hums as she gets a glass down, pouring out some iced tea for herself, "Ricky's only a month old, Emily's still settling into things some days. She practically screamed bloody murder this morning when I gave that bulldog to Ricky to occupy him for a moment. And I've been trying to get him switched over to formula which hasn't been going well. And some days, everyone is just in a mood."

"Have you talked to his doctor?"

"He goes for a check up tomorrow," Sharon says, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I am almost done," Andy says as he finishes the last few ravioli before putting them on a sheet pan and putting a damp towel over them. He puts them in the fridge to sit before starting to wipe the counter down, "The sauce is simmering and I will cook the pasta whenever we're ready to eat."

"Thank you," Sharon says, "Living room?"

"I will be there in a moment," Andy assures her. Sharon heads into the living room and sets her tea down on the coffee table before heading over to her stereo. She flips through a few tapes before plucking out a homemade one and putting it into the deck. She rewinds it back to the beginning and adjusts the volume knob before pressing play.

Andy makes his way into the living room with his own iced tea, setting it down on the opposite side of the table from Sharon's. He smiles as he takes a moment to process the music she had put on, before looping his finger around hers, turning her around.

"What?" Sharon asks. Andy takes her hand in his properly before pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her waist. Sharon laughs as he pulls her closer, following his lead as he sways her across the living room floor, "What are you doing?"

"Mom can have a little fun while the kids are napping," Andy says as they dance around the living room.

"You are too much sometimes, Andy Flynn," Sharon says with a shake of her head. She rests her head on his shoulder and wraps her arm around him. The two of them dance through a couple songs before Sharon steps back, "Thank you for that. It's been a while since I've danced with anyone."

"My pleasure," Andy bows slightly. Sharon moves over to the couch and takes a sip out of her iced tea.

"I'll see if Gavin has a basic rental contract that we could sign, just for safety sake?"

"Of course," Andy nods, "I have my rent paid through the end of the month, but I can start bringing stuff over whenever. I haven't unpacked too much or taken much out of storage."

"Whenever you want. I'm going to start taking Emily back to preschool tomorrow, so the days will be less busy, but whenever," Sharon waves her hand, "Oh how did your qualification go?"

"Good. I'll be back on active duty starting tomorrow. I think Rogers wants me on nights, some kind of sick punishment," Andy shakes his head with a sigh before shrugging, "Whatever, it won't last forever."

"True," Sharon says, resting her head against the back of the couch and tucking her legs under herself. She sighs and lets out a small yawn. Andy reaches out and rubs her leg.

"Why don't you take a bit of a nap hmm? I'm sure you're exhausted. I can keep an ear out for the kids."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all," Andy shakes his head.

"You're too good," Sharon murmurs before untucking herself from the couch. She presses a kiss to his forehead before heading down the hall to her bedroom and slipping into bed under a soft throw.

Sharon naps for a couple hours before waking up when the smell of dinner begins to waft into her room. She looks into the crib after getting out of bed, not finding Ricky waiting for her. Sharon runs her fingers through her hair, brushing some stray strands back before heading down the hall towards the kitchen. She could hear Emily chattering away at her father, Ricky occasionally piping in with a loud coo. She rounds the corner and smiles when she sees Emily standing at the stove with Andy, bundled up in his button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

"This is quite the sight," Sharon says with a small smile.

"Hey, have a good nap?" Andy asks, helping Emily climb down from her stool.

"I did, thank you," Sharon says as she wraps her arms around Emily after she slams into her, "Hi sweet pea."

"Mama, did you see how itty bitty the ra-rava…what are they called?"

"Ravioli," Andy says.

"Yeah those! Did you see how bitty they are?"

"I did see how little they are earlier. They're the perfect size for a little monkey," Sharon says with a smile. Emily returns to her spot next to Andy, helping him with finishing dinner. Sharon makes her way over to the table and smiles as she leans down and peppers Ricky's face with kisses, "How is my little boy? Dada must have snuck in and stole you."

"He woke up a little bit ago. I gave him a bottle and got him changed."

"Thank you," Sharon says as she picks Ricky up and kisses his head as she snuggles him close. He lets out a happy sound as he curls his hand in his mother's shirt, "It smells wonderful."

"Thanks, I've had quite the helper here," Andy smiles, "It'll just be a few more minutes if you want to take a seat."

"You sure I can't help you with anything?"

"We've got it covered," Andy assures her. Sharon nods before sitting down at the table with Ricky, noticing that all of their places had already been set. She continues to hold onto the little boy, gazing over his face as she plays with his fingers and toes.

"Such a sweet little boy," Sharon murmurs before putting Ricky back in his seat as Emily comes over carrying a plate full of garlic bread. She helps her put it up on the table before lifting the shirt she was dressed in over her head, "It was very nice of you to help."

"I like cooking," Emily says as she shakes out her curls before climbing into her chair.

"You're pretty good at it," Sharon says with a smile, setting Andy's shirt on his chair, "This garlic bread looks delicious."

"I put the butter and the shakey on," Emily says, leaning over to grab a piece and put it on her plate.

"The shakey?"

"Garlic powder and parmesan," Andy says as he comes over with the pot of pasta. He dishes out a serving to everyone before returning it to the stove top and grabbing a dish of shredded parmesan, "Drinks…Shar, anything besides water?"

"No I'm fine," Sharon says. Andy makes his way over to the table and takes a seat next to Sharon before shuffling his chair in, "This looks great, Andy, thank you again for making dinner."

"You're welcome," Andy smiles. Sharon looks at Emily as she reaches a finger out to dip into the pasta sauce and arches her eyebrow. Emily sighs and pulls her hand back, folding her hands together on the table top.

"Do you remember how to say grace?" Sharon prods. Emily screws her face up in thought before nodding tentatively and bowing her head.

"Bless us Lord for gifts we about to receive. In Jesus' name, Amen."

"Amen," Sharon says, "Good job, baby."

"Thanks," Emily grins before picking up her fork. The four of them enjoy a nice family dinner, Emily helping Andy clean up and pack away the left overs before he takes her to the living room to watch a movie. Sharon settles against the other end of the couch with Ricky as Emily leans into Andy's side and curls her feet up under herself much in the same way her mother did. By the end of the movie Emily was almost asleep and Ricky was passed out on Sharon's chest.

Andy turns the tv off and gets up off the couch, picking Emily up in his arms before carrying her down the hall to her room. He helps her get changed into her pajamas before lifting the covers for her. Emily climbs into the bed and rustles around for a few moments before settling with a soft sigh. Andy tucks the blankets around her before kissing her head.

"Night Em, I love you."

"Night Dada."

* * *

[TBC]


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes:** Thanks for all the reviews guys - sorry for the wait, work spun out of control this week. I'm hoping to get a couple chapters out over the weekend. Enjoy!

* * *

By the end of the month Andy had moved most of his things into the house, making the guest room his own. He'd left a few things in storage and gotten rid of others, figuring if he ever moved out he could buy them again. Emily was enjoying having her father around all the time and Sharon was grateful for the help with both of them, but not trying to lean on Andy too much.

It was a couple more weeks before his divorce from Vicky was finalized and he was able to set his appointment with the social worker to come over to the house and make sure that it was up to standard so he could start his visitations with Nicole and Charlie. He had sent Sharon off to work that morning, assuring her that he could handle things and that he would tell the social worker when she was available if they needed to talk to Sharon about anything.

Even though he knew he was relatively in the clear, Andy was a nervous wreck. This was the last thing standing between him and getting to see the kids on a regular frequency, he couldn't screw it up. Andy answers the door and offers a small smile to the woman on the other side, opening the door wider for her.

"Liz Hernandez," The woman introduces, holding her hand out to Andy as she steps into the house.

"Andy Flynn," Andy replies as he shakes her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Do you understand what I'm here to do today?"

"Yeah," Andy nods, shutting the front door, "Feel free to look around. Let me know if you have any questions."

"You moved a month ago?" Liz asks as she looks around the living room, leafing through the record and movie collection, taking time to note that the open plugs had been covered.

"Yeah," Andy nods as he follows her through the house, "Cost reduction."

"And who else lives here?" She asks after lifting up a Cosmo that Sharon had left on the coffee table.

"A co-worker of mine, Sharon Raydor, she owns the house," Andy says, "She has two kids. Emily is four and Ricky is two months."

"Single?"

"Currently in the process of getting divorced, but just in the waiting period right now," Andy explains, leaning in the hallway as she goes down the hall towards the bedrooms.

"And you're a cop?" Liz inquires, noting Andy's badge on the dresser next to a small table top safe.

"Yeah, sergeant for LAPD Robbery/Homicide. Little over ten years."

"What kind of hours do you work?"

"Right now full time, some over time occasionally," Andy says, "I've been rotating between nights and days lately, but my CO is going to schedule me off for the weekends that I would have the kids."

"Any concerns about on the job injuries, retaliations, or anything of the sort?"

"In the back of my mind, yeah, but I've never had any issues otherwise. Maybe get in a scuffle every once in a while, no ones ever threatened to come after me or my family."

"How long have you been sober?" She asks, taking a moment to talk to Andy directly. Andy spins the ring on his pinky around with a deep breath.

"200 days tomorrow."

"Any alcohol in the house?"

"No," Andy shakes his head, "Sharon is still breastfeeding so we're a pretty dry house."

"This is a three bedroom house right?" Liz inquires, looking at the daybed that was set up in the corner of Andy's room.

"It is. Sharon has the master bedroom and then Emily has the smallest one. Ricky's crib is in Sharon's room," Andy nods, "I just got the bed for the kids. There's a trundle underneath it so they can share. And there's always space in my bed."

"What about when the kids get older, need their own spaces?"

"This is temporary," Andy says, "The bed I mean, not living here. Sharon and I are splitting the cost of fixing up the basement which will add more livable space. We've talked about adding bedrooms down there, but want to at least get it fixed up to be a play area."

"You have a car?" Liz asks as she looks into Sharon and Emily's rooms and the bathroom before heading into the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards.

"Yeah. And I just picked up booster seats for the kids."

"Regular maintenance?"

"Mmhm," Andy nods. Liz steps down into the basement before coming back upstairs and looking out into the back yard. She scribbles a few things down on the form she'd been filling out as she walked before turning it over to Andy.

"If you want to sign at the bottom, I'll be filing an approval of visitation once I talk to your 'roommate'," Liz says, handing Andy her card after he signs, "If she could give me a call."

"Yeah of course, I'll have her call by the end of the day," Andy says, tucking the card into his pants pocket, "How long after you file before my visitation starts?"

"If I get it filed this week, you could see your kids by the next weekend," Liz says as she tucks everything back into the folder, "We'll keep in contact with you and your ex wife once we get everything filed with the courts."

"Great, thank you so much," Andy smiles, walking Liz out, "That's great to hear."

"I'm sure," Liz smiles, "It's always good to give people happy news every once in a while. We'll call if we need anything else. Have a good day, Mr. Flynn."

"You as well, Ms. Hernandez," Andy nods before closing the door. He doesn't wipe the grin off his face as he continues getting ready for work before heading into the office. Before heading up to Robbery/Homicide he makes his way to FID, scanning the quiet work room for Sharon. He finds her sitting at a desk off to the side, reading her way through a thick manual.

"I thought I told you you didn't have to read anymore after you passed the detectives exam," Andy says. Sharon marks her page and looks up at him with a smile.

"I had heard that," She says, "How did everything go?"

"Great, I'm in the clear after you talk to the social worker," Andy says handing the card over, "If they get everything filed by the end of the week I could pick up the kids next weekend."

"That's great," Sharon smiles, "I will make sure to call during a break today."

"Thank you," Andy nods, "I will leave you to your reading. What are you reading by the way?"

"The entirety of the LAPD Code of Conduct," Sharon says, showing him the cover.

"I'd rather read Shakespeare," Andy says with a grin and a wink before leaving FID and making his way to his own work room.

Later in the day, Andy looks up from his desk when he hears Sharon's voice in the room, watching as she talks to Johnson before being pointed to the opposite side of the room where Andy sat. He watches as she walks over to Mulaney talking to him for a few moments before a dark look rolls over the cop's face and he pushes his chair back roughly. Andy stops himself from immediately sprinting across the room and trying to protect her as Mulaney curls his fist before obediently following her down the hallway, a frown drawing his face together.

Since she'd transferred over to FID Andy had worried slightly about any officers being particularly rude to her. He'd always been a right asshole to any IA officers himself when they came sniffing his way. Sharon didn't deserve that though, she was just trying to do better for the kids and the LAPD. She'd assured him that she didn't need a knight in shining armor, that she could handle herself at work, she already had been for quite a while.

Andy watches her walk down the hallway and disappear into an interview room before looking at his watch. It was around time for his lunch break and he could make it down to the school and see the kids, knowing that he was going to be home long after they were in bed. He lets his partner know that he was leaving before grabbing his suit jacket and heading out of the Parker Center and taking off down the block at a leisurely pace. He makes it to St. Josephs about 10 minutes later and makes his way to the daycare before greeting the girl at the front, asking if he could see Emily and Ricky for a half hour.

Ricky gets brought out of a room to his left and he grins when he sees Andy, wiggling in the grasp of the younger girl carrying him. Andy smiles and takes him, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he pats his back.

"Hey bub," Andy says, waiting for Emily before wrapping his arm around her in a half hug and taking her hand. He walks the kids down the street to the deli, getting a sandwich for himself and a cookie for Emily before finding a small table for them. Emily hops up into her seat and begins to unwrap her cookie as Andy wraps his arm around Ricky, unwrapping his sandwich with his free hand.

"Where's Mama?"

"She's still at work," Andy says after taking a bite of his sandwich, "I have to work late so I thought I would come see you guys on my lunch."

"Oh," Emily says before taking a bite of her cookie with a smile, "I like that."

"Good," Andy smiles, "How is school?"

"Good, we colored earlier. I can write my name!"

"You can? That's great, you'll have to show Mama later when you get home," Andy says encouragingly. Emily finishes her cookie before eyeballing Andy's sandwich.

"Can I has a bite of your sandwich?" Emily asks, "Please?"

"It has hot peppers on it," Andy warns.

"What's that?" Emily asks, already pulling the paper across the table towards herself.

"They're like the peppers Mama makes for your snack but they're spicy," Andy explains, trying not to tell her she probably wouldn't like them, but not wanting to discourage her from trying new foods.

"Hmm," Emily hums, pulling a pepper off the sandwich before popping it into her mouth. Her eyes widen as she chews, starting to grab other peppers off of the sandwich and toss them into her mouth, "These is good."

"Yeah? You like those?"

"Mmhm," Emily nods, quickly picking all of the peppers off of his sandwich before licking her fingers off. Andy laughs and finishes eating the rest of his sandwich before balling up his paper and grabbing her cookie wrapper.

"I'll have to tell Mama to put some on the grocery list," Andy says as he throws his trash away before holding his hand out to Emily. She climbs down from her chair and takes his hand, swinging it back and forth as they walk back to the day care, "How is your ballet class going?"

"I really like it," Emily says, looking up at Andy with a wide smile, "Madame CC says I'm reaaaaally good for my age."

"That's great. I'm glad you like it."

"I wanna be a ballewina when I grow up," Emily says with a definite tone as Andy opens the door to the daycare.

"Well then it's good we got you into lessons," Andy says with a smile. He scoops Emily up in his free arm and squeezes her close before kissing her on the head, "I love you, I'll see you later."

"I love you too, Dada," Emily says as she kisses his cheek before she squirms down and runs back to her room. Andy takes Ricky back to the baby room and gets his diaper changed before blowing a raspberry on his belly and making him laugh. He leaves him in the care of the girl that had brought him out and waves at the secretary before leaving and heading back to work.

* * *

[TBC]


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes:** Here is chapter 1 of 2 for this weekend so far - might chug out another one tomorrow. We'll see :D Thanks again for all the reviews, I hope everyone enjoys.

* * *

Sharon sighs as she steps into the house and kicks off her shoes, shutting the door behind her. It was Nicole and Charlie's first weekend staying with them and she'd been called in Thursday night for an officer involved shooting. It was the first one since she'd joined FID and her captain thought that it would be a good experience for her to deal with a case from start to finish.

Andy had assured her that he could get the kids off to preschool in the morning when she'd knocked on his bedroom door at two in the morning, leaving the baby monitor on his bedside table. She'd been gone all day Friday, only stopping home after work for dinner and a change of clothes before heading out again. Andy had taken care of getting the kids to bed and picking up the house, getting the rest of Charlie and Nicole's things together.

After feeding Emily and Ricky breakfast and lunch and doing last minute cleaning Andy packed the two of them into the back seat of his car, making a trip to the store before going to get Nicole and Charlie. A few curt words exchanged with Vicky he'd been on his way with the kids, Emily and Nicole quickly opening up to each other on the ride to the house. Sharon had called while he was out, leaving a message to let him know that she was going to be home in time for dinner and would pick up something on her way home to celebrate Nicole and Charlie coming over.

Sharon could hear the two girls chattering away down the hall and could see the sliding glass door to the back yard open. She sets the to-go bags down on the table and drapes her jacket over one of the chairs before heading out to the back yard. Charlie and Andy were playing catch as Ricky watched from a baby swing that Andy had put up on Emily's swing set.

"Hey you two," Sharon greets, making her way across the yard to grab Ricky, peppering him with kisses and snuggling him close before heading over to Andy and Charlie, "How are things going?"

"Pretty good," Andy smiles, a sparkle in his brown eyes as he catches the ball that Charlie throws at him before beckoning the little boy over, "Charlie, this is my friend, Sharon. She is Emily and Ricky's mom."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Charlie," Sharon says, squatting down closer to his height. He was tall for his age, taking after his father already, but had light brown hair that was distinctly his mother's along with his light blue eyes. His facial structure was all Andy though, and the way she could see emotions flit across his face, she could bet that he was a fire cracker as well. Charlie wraps his arm around Andy's leg and whispers a quiet hello to Sharon before hiding his face.

"He can be a little shy at first," Andy explains, running his fingers through his son's hair before patting him on the back of his head.

"That's okay," Sharon says with a smile, standing up before taking a deep breath and letting it out on an equally long exhale, "I put dinner on the table if you want to go in and clean up, are the girls in Emily's room?"

"Hi Mama!" Emily says, her tiny fingers pulling herself up to press her face against the screen of her bedroom window.

"Hi sweetness," Sharon says, stepping closer to the window, "Are you having fun playing with Nicole?"

"Ah huh! We're playing with our dolls right now!"

"Why don't you two wash up for dinner hmm? I picked up Chinese food."

"Ooh! I love that!" Emily says with a smile before climbing down. Sharon follows the boys inside and carries Ricky with her towards her bedroom, shutting the door so she can change. She makes her way out to the kitchen a few minutes later, rid of her work clothes and changed into a pair of jeans and a large men's button up. Andy was wrangling all the kids to the table, making them each a plate before setting them up with napkins and cutlery. He sighs and raises his eyebrows at Sharon before making her a plate and setting it at the table next to Emily.

"Thanks, Andy," Sharon smiles before sitting down with Ricky. Andy makes his own plate before managing to squeeze in next to Charlie. The kids talk with each other as they eat, generally making a mess as they do, as Andy looks at Sharon over Charlie's head. She was picking her way through the steamed vegetables and rice that she'd ordered for herself, the only thing they really had at the restaurant that wasn't soy based.

After a couple trips to the doctor they'd determined that Ricky was sensitive to soy and cows milk so his only option until he started on solid foods was to breastfeed, but it also meant that Sharon had to cut those things out of her diet for the most part as well. On top of all that Ricky wasn't shy about letting his mother know when he was hungry, tugging at her shirt insistently as a two and a half month old could. Andy watched as she rotated between talking to the kids, eating, and tugging Ricky away from her shirt with ease.

"Sorry, I probably should have fed him again," Andy apologizes as she tugs the baby's hand away once more, nuzzling the back of his head to stave off any tears, "I figured since you were on your way home..."

"It's okay," Sharon says with a smile, "I do need to feed him myself, I feel like I'm about to tip over. I tried to pump while I was at work but a police station isn't too conducive to doing that. I'm lucky to get away when I'm just doing paperwork."

"No I suppose not," Andy says, "You should talk to Daniels in HR about that. I'm sure they could work something out. I mean you have a few more months of this ahead of you at minimum."

"Maybe," Sharon agrees with a shrug, putting her fork down as Ricky lets out a loud cry, giving up on being patient. She excuses herself and shushes him as she stands, "Alright, alright, let's get you fed."

Andy reaches out and puts a hand on her back before she heads down the hall with the crying baby. He turns back to the table and picks up Sharon's plate, putting it under a warming lid in the microwave before taking his seat again.

"Where did Sharon take Ricky?" Charlie asks, looking up at his father with inquiring eyes.

"To feed him dinner, it's Ricky's dinner time too," Andy explains.

"But we have food here," Charlie counters.

"We do but you remember when I gave Ricky his bottle earlier when we got home?" Andy asks. Charlie nods after thinking for a moment, "Well Ricky has to drink special milk so his tummy doesn't hurt and Sharon makes that for him."

"How?"

"Well..." Andy fumbles, wondering how to explain it to his son, "When a mom has a baby her body starts making the special milk so it's ready when the baby is born."

"But how does he get it?" Charlie asks, a little exasperated, "We keep milk in the fridge not in the bedroom."

"Mama's boobies," Emily says through a mouthful of rice, chiming in to educate her half brother.

"Ew!" Charlie exclaims, his nose wrinkling in disgust, "That is so gross! Why does he do that?"

"Oh god," Andy says, looking up at the ceiling and shaking his head. Nicole laughs from her spot at the table as Charlie fake gags. Andy sighs and looks back at his kids, "It's what babies do. You and your sister both did it when you were born."

"Nun uh!" Charlie exclaims in protest.

"Did too," Andy tells him.

"You making stuff up, Daddy," Charlie claims before turning back to his dinner.

After the kids finish their dinner Andy cleans them up before sending them into the living room to watch a movie. He cleans up the kitchen and puts the dishes into the sink before heading down the hall. He knocks on Sharon's bedroom door before sticking his head in. Sharon smiles tiredly and waves him in, the rocking chair drifting to and fro as he takes a seat on the end of the bed with a sigh.

"Long day?" Sharon asks.

"Not as long as yours," Andy replies with a laugh, "Though your daughter just treated Charlie to the intricacies of breastfeeding at the dinner table when he was very confused about why Ricky was having dinner in the bedroom."

"Oh sure _now_ she's my daughter," Sharon teases, "Pretty sure bluntness is something she gets from you."

"Mmmm maybe," Andy shrugs, "They are watching a movie right now. I figure we do baths after and then put them all down to bed?"

"I think that sounds like a fine idea. He's probably going to eat himself into a milk coma here soon," Sharon says, "I'm sorry you had all four of them all day."

"It's fine," Andy waves her off, "The three of them hit it off and he's a good baby."

"Still…you've been a life saver," Sharon says as Ricky pulls back, a lazy look in his eyes and a dribble of milk making its way down his chin as his mouth suckles on air. She wipes his chin off with a corner of her shirt before leaning forward to hand him to Andy. He lets out a small whine before settling against Andy's shoulder as his father tries to burp him.

Andy's eyes drag over the pale skin revealed through the thin opening in her shirt as his hand rubs over the baby's back. She hadn't put her bra back on when she'd changed earlier, he notes as his eyes cut a path through the soft bare skin between her breasts. His eyes trail lower over her flat stomach. She still had a little weight left over from Ricky, but had bounced back quickly, the few stretch marks she had silvering as time passed.

Sharon clears her throat as she buttons her shirt up, arching her eyebrow at Andy as his eyes snap up to hers. He gives her a sheepish look as his ears color and she grins back at him with a wink before standing up and holding her hands out for Ricky. Andy hands him back over and Ricky lets out a happy sound as he settles his head against his mother's chest, curling up again. The three of them make their way out to the living room, taking spots on the couch as the kids were sitting on the floor in front of the tv enthralled in their movie.

"Did you want to go to church tomorrow?" Andy asks, letting Sharon put her feet in his lap as they get comfortable.

"Mmm," Sharon nods, "Probably the second one, sleep in a little bit. We could take the kids to breakfast after before we have to drop Nic and Charlie off."

"Sure," Andy nods rests his hand on Sharon's calf as they settle in.

* * *

[TBC]


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes:** Chapter 2 of 2 for today!

* * *

The tail end of summer began to melt away to fall as they settled into a routine of having Charlie and Nicole every other weekend, their competing work schedules, and occasionally swapping care of Ricky and Emily. Andy would pick them up in the evening if Sharon got stuck in the office and occasionally drop them off at daycare if she got called out in the middle of the night.

Sharon was finally settling into her new role at FID and getting high commendations with how quickly she was learning. Her captain was impressed with her skills and told her that she had a bright future with the squad, as much as Andy wrinkled his nose when she would walk through his squad room to pick up one of his coworkers.

As October rang its way in Sharon had insisted on her earlier request that they take at least an evening a month away from the kids and use it to get to know each other better. She had gotten the name of a reliable babysitter from a couple moms at the kids' daycare and set up a Saturday afternoon that she and Andy both had off for her to come over.

"Sarah?" Sharon asks as she opens the door and smiles at the young brunette on the other side.

"That's me," Sarah smiles and offers her hand to Sharon. Sharon shakes it before stepping back to let her inside.

"Did you have a trouble finding the place?"

"No the directions were pretty clear," Sarah says, "I actually used to babysit for a family down the street before they got a full time nanny. The Johnson's if you know them."

"We haven't met too many of our neighbors," Sharon shakes her head with a smile, "Let me show you around real quick and introduce you to the kids."

"Sure," Sarah nods, following Sharon around the house as she points everything out to her before they end up back in the kitchen.

"Emily and the baby have had lunch. There are some leftovers from last night she can have for dinner, and some extra snacks from this week she can have if she gets hungry in between. They're in the pink tupperware," Sharon explains, "Ricky's milk is in the drawer and labeled. Just start at the front and work your way back, and there are clean bottles and stuff in the cupboard above the drying rack. He is eating about every three hours or so and all you need to do is just heat one up and he'll tuck in pretty well."

"Sure," Sarah nods.

"Um…Ricky will doze on and off, but I wouldn't let him get any serious sleep past about seven or so until you put him down for the night around ten. Emily goes to bed around eight. Unless you guys are outside a lot she shouldn't need a bath, just a couple short stories and she'll be out. I leave a night light on for her, and she usually doesn't get up. If she's being ornery you can put her in my bed," Sharon says as she walks Sarah out back where Andy was sitting with Ricky, watching as Emily was running around the yard, "As long as the temp keeps up, feel free to play out back. Is there anything I'm missing? I've written a lot of it down inside. Sorry we don't get sitters a lot."

"I think that covers a lot of it," Sarah smiles. Andy stands with Ricky and introduces himself to the girl.

"And this is the famous Ricky," Andy says, sitting him up a little bit more. Sharon smoothes the baby's hair back and presses a kiss to his cheek before going to get Emily.

"Oh aren't you just a handsome little thing?" Sarah coos at Ricky as she tickles his cheek. He gives her a gummy grin and coos.

"He is a flirt," Andy warns her before handing him over, "But he's actually a great baby."

"I'm sure we'll get a long just fine," Sarah says as she bounces Ricky before Sharon comes over with Emily.

"Emily this is Sarah, she's going to watch you and Ricky while your dad and I go out for a bit today."

"Hi Emily," Sarah says as she squats down. Emily smiles and greets her back, partially hiding her face in Sharon's thigh.

"Maybe you can show Sarah your movie collection and pick something out to watch today?" Sharon suggests.

"Oh yeah!" Emily says as she runs inside. Sharon laughs and the three of them follow her inside, Sarah moving into the living room to look through movies with Emily. Sharon scans over her notes once more before pinning them up on the fridge and going to talk to Sarah.

"So, I've left notes up on the fridge, there are phone numbers for the restaurant we'll be at, the kids' doctor, and Andy's ex-wife. I know it sounds odd, but if something came up, she would take the kids," Sharon says, "I don't expect that we'll be out until after bedtime but we might, is that still okay?"

"It's fine," Sarah smiles assuringly.

"Alright, help yourself to anything in the house," Sharon says before leaning over and kissing Emily's cheek and giving her a firm hug, "I love you baby, have a good afternoon."

"Bye mama," Emily smiles. Sharon kisses Ricky's cheek and tries again to fix his hair before bidding everyone goodbye and following Andy out of the house after he says goodbye to the kids as well. Sharon gets into the passenger side of his car and drops her purse down to the floor, giving him an apprehensive smile as he gets in.

"You know," Sharon says as Andy starts to drive, "We drop them off at daycare every day, and yet I get butterflies leaving them with a babysitter."

"She's a new person," Andy shrugs, reaching over to take Sharon's hand in his, "She seems to know her stuff though, I'm sure she'll do fine."

"She does," Sharon says, "I pulled a background check on her, called her teachers, old families. She's not unqualified by a long shot."

Andy looks over at Sharon as they sit at a stoplight, his eyebrow arched as he rolls a toothpick back and forth between his teeth. Sharon notices his stare and arches her own eyebrow, "What?"

"You are such a cop sometimes," Andy says with a grin. Sharon rolls her eyes and shakes her head, looking out the window. Andy squeezes her hand as he drives them towards the restaurant they had made reservations at. He pulls into the parking lot and finds them a spot before getting out and going around to Sharon's side and opening her door for her. She smiles at him as she takes his hand, stepping out of the car and grabbing her purse.

"Thank you," Sharon murmurs before following him inside. Andy had made the reservation earlier in the week at a restaurant that he had a good relationship with. He'd made sure to mention that they were going to be there for a while, but would offset the time they occupied the table with a decent bill and tip. He gives his name at the host stand and thanks them as they're shown to a table next to the windows looking out over the ocean. Andy pulls out Sharon's chair for her, pushing her in before taking a seat across from her, "This is wonderful Andy."

"I've always liked coming here," Andy says with a smile, "How about a coffee to start with?"

"Sure," Sharon nods, a smile spreading across her lips. Andy orders them two coffees, asking for a decaf for Sharon before turning his attention back to her, "One of these days, real coffee…wine…ice cream."

"It's for a good cause," Andy assures her, his eyes drifting down slightly, "Great visuals."

"You know your eyes have been pretty drifty since you moved in," Sharon comments with a smile, taking a sip of the water that was on the table.

"Have you seen what I have to look at?" Andy asks with an arch of his eyebrow.

"I think we definitely have different opinions on it," Sharon says, thanking the waiter as he brings their coffees over. She opens a packet of sugar and tips it into the black liquid before stirring it and taking a sip, sighing as it warms its way down her throat.

"Has Emily told you what she wants to be for halloween?" Andy asks, "I keep asking her and she keeps telling me it's a surprise."

"What do you think?" Sharon says, "She wants to be a ballerina."

"That's not a surprise. I thought it was going to be like…well I don't know what I thought," Andy laughs and shakes his head, "What's the first halloween you remember?"

"Mmm I was about Emily's age I suppose," Sharon says after thinking for a moment, tilting her head.

"What did you dress up as?" Andy asks, his eyebrow arching as Sharon's cheeks color and she sighs.

"A ballerina."

"Seriously?" Andy asks, a grin on his lips.

"Mmhm," Sharon nods, "Why do you think I thought to put her in dance classes? I took them until I was in high school, danced a little bit in college. I loved it, I could only hope that she would too."

"Well I would say she takes after you then," Andy smiles, "She really does love her dance class."

"What about you?" Sharon asks, "Your first halloween."

"Probably just as eye rolling. Raggedy Andy," Andy says with a laugh, "My sister was dressed up as Raggedy Anne."

"Oh my god that had to have been so cute," Sharon grins, a giggle bubbling up, "How many siblings do you have?"

"Four," Andy says, "All sisters, _and_ I'm the baby."

"Oh my goodness," Sharon shakes her head, "How on earth did your mother survive?"

"She made my sisters watch me," Andy says simply with a shrug, "I had five women constantly nagging me from the time I was born."

"Explains your temper," Sharon teases, "How old are they?"

"Katherine's five years older, Sophia is seven, Allie is nine, and Maggie is ten."

"Allie?" Sharon comments, not finding that the name fit in with the others in Andy's family.

"Allegra," Andy elaborates, "My dad got an Irish name on one baby, my mom got an Italian on the next one. But we always call her Allie."

"Interesting arrangement. You were a surprise weren't you?" Sharon deduces after thinking about his sisters' ages. Andy nods as he sets his cup down.

"Oh yeah," Andy laughs, "I don't think my mom let my dad live it down until I was in high school. She always said he could look at her crosseyed and knock her up. They had their struggles, but they loved the shit out of us."

"God, I can't imagine having a baby and a ten year old," Sharon says.

"She didn't advise it, said we were better off having Nic and Charlie close together," Andy shrugs, "But my mom was also a stay at home mom in the sixties. It was easier to get by. You don't have any siblings do you?"

"Yes and no," Sharon says with a sad smile, "I had an older brother, Will. He died in Vietnam when I was still in high school."

"Will?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods, "William O'Dwyer Junior. If I had to say, I probably named Ricky more after him than my dad."

"I bet he would have liked that."

"He would have called me a cheese head," Sharon smiles. The two continue to talk for a while, an easy flow coming to their conversation. Eventually they order dinner and split a plate of dessert before getting ready to head home.

Andy pays their bill, leaving a hefty tip behind before walking Sharon out to the car. He holds her hand again as they drive home, Sharon telling him about her parents plan to come visit for Christmas and that they would have to talk to Vicky soon about what they wanted to do for the holidays with the kids.

Once they get home Andy pulls the car into the driveway and goes around to Sharon's side, helping her out of the car again before making his way up the walk with her. A glance in the window and they could see that Sarah was on the couch watching tv while feeding Ricky his bedtime bottle. Andy pulls on Sharon's hand as she reaches for the door, stopping her. Sharon looks up at him in confusion and hums as his lips collide with hers. She melts into his kiss, her fingers tightening around his as she opens her mouth slightly and their tongues tangle together. Andy's free hand tangles in her hair as he deepens the kiss, both of them continuing until they run out of breath, parting with deep inhales.

"I had a really nice time tonight," Andy says, "It was a good idea to do this."

"It was," Sharon agrees with a lazy smile. Andy presses another soft kiss to her lips before opening the door to the house.

* * *

[TBC]


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews everyone. Some of the content of this chapter is inspired by Ripple Effect by Kadi219. If you haven't read it I would check it out! Please continue to review and let me know your thoughts. I have some ideas for the future of this story but am always interested to hear other peoples opinions.

* * *

Vicky had extended the hand in inviting them over for Halloween night to take all of the kids trick or treating. Sharon had been surprised at the offer, having not received more than looks of animosity from Andy's ex any time they dropped the kids off after their weekend with them. Not that she could blame her, she'd probably feel the same way towards the family her ex-husband seemed to clean up his act for. Nevertheless it was progress in her and Andy's relationship post divorce and Sharon wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

Sharon had gotten both of the kids dressed into their costumes before Andy got home, taking a couple pictures of the ballerina and pumpkin with their father before they zipped out the door. He was in the middle of a case but was able to negotiate a couple hours off to spend time with his family. Emily chattered excitedly on the way to Vicky's, happy to be able to see Charlie and Nicole outside of their usual visitations.

Once they get to Vicky's Andy parks the car on the street before going around to the other side to let Emily out and grab Ricky. Nicole and Charlie were playing hopscotch in the driveway as they waited, stopping their game once they saw Andy's car pull up. Emily and Nicole practically tackle each other in a hug, amazed at the others costume and Charlie made a beeline across the front yard to crash into Andy's leg.

"Daddy! I missed you!"

"I missed you too buddy," Andy replies with a smile as he ruffles Charlie's hair before the boy steps back, "Dodger player, good choice!"

"Mom let me wear my shirt you got me at the game," Charlie says, turning around to show Andy.

"Awesome," Andy smiles. Sharon greets the kids, getting a hug from Charlie and a wave from Nicole before Vicky makes her way outside with the kids treat bags, "Hey Vick."

"Hi," Vicky says with a small smile.

"So official introductions, Vicky this is Sharon. Sharon, Vicky. That is Emily over there and this is Ricky," Andy caps with a smile, bouncing the baby. Ricky coos around gumming on his fist, a smile crinkling his eyes. Sharon smiles and reaches out to shake Vicky's hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Sharon says.

"Likewise. The famous Sharon," Vicky smiles, "The kids don't stop talking about you when they come home."

"Really?" Sharon says tilting her head slightly, "I had no idea."

"They're pretty enamored with Emily and Ricky as well," Vicky says with a shrug before an impish grin comes over her face, "Though there was a mention of boobies and milk at some point."

"Oh god," Sharon blushes, "I am so sorry...Emily..."

"Don't worry about it," Vicky laughs at Sharon's mortified look, "Charlie has the amount of tact that his father does."

"Apparently so does Emily," Sharon says, fanning herself off as her cheeks flare bright red.

"Hey!" Andy says indignantly and Sharon smiles at him before taking Emily's bag over to her and handing it over. They start off down the block, Emily, Charlie, and Nicole leading the way as Andy follows behind them closely. Sharon sighs as she stuffs her hands in her pockets, walking along next to Vicky.

"I want to hate you," Vicky says at a low enough volume that Andy couldn't hear her, "Hell I want to hate him too…some days I still do."

"I don't blame you," Sharon says after a moment, looking over to judge Vicky's mood, "I…I didn't tell him about Emily until I knew I was pregnant with Ricky. And that was after you had kicked him out. I never asked him for anything."

"His screw-ups are his own," Vicky says, "It's taken me…three years to deal with that thought. I spent a lot of time blaming myself. That I wasn't doing enough for him, and then I was angry, how could I possibly do more when I was running after two kids, trying to keep the house up, working full time…and he was…"

"In a bottle?" Sharon finishes. Vicky nods and Sharon lets out a long breath with a nod, "I know."

"And now he's sober, he's been sober for longer than he's ever been since Nic was born. And he has you, and Emily, and Ricky."

"He doesn't have me," Sharon protests, not wanting Vicky to get the wrong idea from their relationship.

"He has you on his side, and he wants you in other ways," Vicky says, looking over at Sharon, "I've seen the way he looks at you. I've even heard him mumble your name in his sleep a few times over the years…not that he would ever admit it."

"Oh god I really am a terrible person," Sharon whimpers, her head swinging in the other direction, avoiding looking at the woman.

"No you're not," Vicky assures her, "Andy and I were high school sweethearts, we're lucky we made it as long as we did."

"Still, I…"

"Sharon. My only job left is to love and raise my kids. And I need to keep them safe, and Andy has a lot of trust to earn back. But I'm glad that he has you, and I'm glad that they like you," Vicky says, "I just…I need you to tell me if he ever starts drinking again. I don't expect you to be his mother. He should know that this is his problem and no one else's, but I can't subject Nic and Charlie to that again."

"I know," Sharon nods, looking back over at Vicky.

"He's a great dad and he can be a great partner. He just needs to be sober to do that," Vicky tells her. Sharon nods and raises her eyebrows as Andy tells the kids to wait for a second before turning around to hand her a fussy Ricky.

"Awe what's wrong my little pumpkin?" Sharon says as she pulls her hands from her pockets to reach out for Ricky as he sticks his bottom lip out. He lets out a long whine as he squirms in Andy's grip before snuggling up once Sharon takes him. She pulls the cap off of his head and tucks it in her back pocket before pressing a kiss to his forehead, "Mmm you're warm, I bet you're sweating up a storm in that costume."

"The problem with Halloween in Southern California. The rest of the country it's colder than 45 degrees and here it's 70," Vicky says as Sharon pulls the velcro on the back of Ricky's costume apart before letting him out of it. She cradles him close as she loops the costume over her arm, smiling and pressing a kiss to his nose as she tries to smooth his hair down, "God, he looks just like Andy."

"He does," Sharon agrees, "I was surprised how much Charlie takes after you."

"I apparently got Andy's Irish side on that one," Vicky smiles, "He had red hair when he was born, I was actually kind of sad when it turned brown."

"Really?" Sharon says raising her eyebrows.

"Mmhm," Vicky nods, "I'll have to show you a picture when we get back."

The three of them follow the kids through the rest of the neighborhood before they loop back to Vicky's house. Andy was carrying a snoozing Charlie on his hip and carrying the boy's candy bag by his side. Ricky was fast asleep against Sharon's shoulder as well as the girls run inside behind Vicky. Sharon tentatively follows them into the house, lingering by the door as Andy carries Charlie to his room.

"Here let me show you that picture I was telling you about," Vicky says from the living room as she pulls a photo album off the shelf. Sharon steps into the living room, looking around and noticing a few pictures of the family the Flynn's had been before the divorce. Emily and Nicole were sitting on the floor playing with some toys that were strewn about from earlier in the day, not paying attention as Vicky pulls a picture from the album before showing it to Sharon. She smiles as she looks at the picture of newborn Charlie laying against Andy's chest, a headful of red hair instead of the light brown that he currently had.

"What incriminating pictures are you showing her now?" Andy says as he makes his way back to the living room after putting Charlie down.

"Nothing," Vicky says, "Just proving that Charlie used to be a ginger."

"Oh yeah," Andy smiles, "I forgot about that."

"It's cute," Sharon says with a smile at Andy before handing the picture back, "We should get going. You need to get back to work and Ricky's probably going to be up again by the time we get home."

"Right," Andy nods, "Thanks for having us over. It was good to see them tonight, thank you for that."

"Of course," Vicky nods, "I'm glad you were able to make it."

"Em, honey, we're gonna go."

"Are Nikki and Charlie coming over this weekend?" Emily asks as she pushes herself up from the floor and grabs her bag of candy.

"Not this weekend, next weekend," Andy tells her, picking Nicole up and spinning her around and pressing kisses to her cheek, "Right, honey?"

"Mmhm!" Nicole nods with a smile and wraps her arms around Andy's neck hugging him close, "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, honey," Andy says, giving her one last squeeze before putting her down. Sharon says goodbye to Vicky and Nicole before walking Emily out to the car with Andy.

"That was nice," Sharon says as she opens the back door, putting the baby in before helping Emily into her booster seat.

"It was, I'm glad she called," Andy smiles, putting a hand on Sharon's back, "You guys get along okay?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods as she shuts the backdoor, "Just fine."

"Good," Andy nods back before opening her door for her. He closes it after she gets in before going around to the driver's side and getting in. He turns the engine over and begins to drive them home, finding Sharon's hand across the console.

"Dada?" Emily pipes up from the back seat as her tiny fingers unroll a Tootsie Roll.

"Yes, monkey?" Andy says, flicking his eyes up to the rearview mirror to look at her.

"Why does Charlie and Nikki call you Daddy?" Emily asks before tossing the candy in her mouth and reaching to unwrap another one as she chews. Sharon looks over at Andy, her eyebrows raising slightly. They hadn't explicitly said anything to any of the kids about the relationship between the four of them. To Emily, Ricky was her brother, and she did not have any other siblings. And Charlie and Nicole probably thought the same, that Emily and Ricky were Sharon's kids and their dad happened to live with them.

"Well..." Andy falters for a moment before deciding to go with the truth and see where that took them, "Because I'm their dad."

"But your our dada," Emily says, "And their mama isn't our mama."

"Right," Andy nods, "I'm their dada and I'm you and Ricky's dada, but you have different mamas."

"Sooooo..." Sharon snorts back a laugh as Emily's little voice trails off, much the same way hers did when asking a question. She turns around to look at her daughter, her eyes widening as she sees how many pieces of candy Emily had managed to down in the few minutes they'd been in the car. She takes the bag away from her and gives her a disapproving look before explaining the situation.

"So Andy is your dad. And Ricky, and Nic, and Charlie's dad. But Char and Nic's mom is Vicky. And I'm your mom," Sharon says. Emily nods as she shoves the last piece of candy in her mouth, "So that makes Ricky your whole brother and then Nic is your half sister and Charlie is your half brother."

"Nikki's my sister?" Emily says as her face lights up. She had been disappointed that Ricky was a boy when he was born and even in the few short months of his existence Emily was already insisting that Sharon have another baby and this time make sure it was a girl.

"She is," Sharon nods with a small smile. Emily's face goes dark for a moment as she thinks before she heaves a large sigh for a four year old.

"Then I guess it's okay they call you Dada too," She announces. Andy looks back as he stops at a stop light, reaching out to tickle Emily's foot.

"You'll always be my monkey though," He reminds her with a soft smile. Emily smiles at him and kicks her foot playfully into his hand. Andy winks at her before turning his attention back to the road. He gets the three of them home, carrying Ricky inside before kissing Emily on the head on his way out the door, "I have to go back to work, but I'll be back for breakfast though okay?"

"Okay," Emily says, hugging him around the leg, "Love you."

"I love you too, don't let mama eat too much of your candy," He says, ruffling the little girl's impeccable bun and winking at Sharon before leaving to go back to the station.

* * *

[TBC]


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes:** This chapter semi picks up right after the last one - but quickly goes into a summary. Also, I have been rewatching the Closer and have some ideas of things/post-eps I would like to do with this Sharon and Andy in addition to other items I've already had planned. So I might take this fic to around Ricky's first birthday and then break off to a sequel. Does that seem reasonable? Are you tired of this yet? Let me know!

1 of 2 being posted :)

* * *

Across town, Vicky was having a similar conversation with her daughter as she tucked her into bed. Nicole didn't exactly share her half sister's enthusiasm with the new revelation once Vicky had gotten done explaining it, even as she took care to not throw Andy under the bus for his indiscretions. Nicole wasn't happy to hear that her sister had come about while her now divorced parents were still married. She understood enough about relationships at her young age to know that it wasn't necessarily right.

The next time Andy came to pick up the kids Nicole was refusing to go along with her brother, sitting stubbornly in her room, waiting for her father to leave. Leaving Charlie's bag by the door and telling his son to wait for a moment, Andy lumbered down the hall to talk to his angry little girl. He took a seat next to her on her pink bed with a sigh, running a hand through his hair before starting to apologize. He had thought that he had made his amends with his kids, but realized there were more apologies he was going to have to make for years to come as the kids began to understand more about their childhoods.

Nicole had reluctantly agreed to go along for the weekend after talking to Andy, generally giving the cold shoulder to most of the family as she dealt with the thoughts swirling around in her little head. Sharon had assured him that all Nicole needed was a little bit of time and she would be back to herself in no time. The little girl was still quiet by the time Andy had dropped them off Sunday after church, but had come back to them a couple weeks later as the bright and happy Nicole that they generally expected after an ice cream date with her dad after school one day.

Before they knew it the temperature had continued to drop, bringing a crispness to the air that LA only saw a couple months out of the year. Sharon and Andy continued to have their monthly 'not a date' night, occasionally adding in other times when they could. Each outing ended with a kiss on the porch, Sharon's heart fluttering a little bit longer each time. They spent a quiet Thanksgiving together with just Emily and Ricky, as Vicky had taken Charlie and Nicole to visit her family. Andy was a little perturbed by not only losing out on the holiday but a weekend with the kids with how the calendar had fallen, especially not knowing whether or not they were going to be able to see the kids for Christmas.

Sharon had busted out the Christmas decorations at the beginning of the month, taking care to decorate the house and put the tree up with Andy and the kids. Presents began to materialize beneath the brightly decorated tree, each kid getting their gift wrapped in a different paper. Sharon tended to shop slowly, eventually assessing closer to the holiday where she was at in her list where as Andy tended to shop all at once.

They had added an extra night on for December, sending Emily to a friend's house for a sleep over and having Sarah come over and watch Ricky. They'd spent the afternoon shopping, Sharon only buying a few additional things to add to what she had already put under the tree. Andy, however, had come home with armfuls of bags. She had tried to tell him that the kids didn't need that much, but after such a rough year Andy felt like he was paying a bit of a penance.

Currently, Sharon was trying to hold herself together as she laughed hysterically at Andy's wrapping skills. He had tape strewn all across the floor along with a bunch of crumpled remnants of previous wrapping attempts. Andy was looking a little worse for wear as well. Sharon had completed wrapping the rest of her presents with a store like precision, and tucked them neatly under the tree. She had also taken the time to wrap the presents her parents had sent ahead. And Andy was still on present number three.

"You know," Andy grumbles, "Instead of laughing at me you could help."

"But where's the fun in that?" Sharon manages through her giggles. She eventually manages to compose herself for a moment before picking up the mangled remains of everything and bundling them up, "Here, let me."

"Thank you," Andy says, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Did none of the five women in your family teach you how to wrap presents?"

"Apparently not," Andy shrugs as Sharon grabs the rolls of paper starting to fold and bend it around the gifts he'd bought for everyone, "Where did you learn?"

"My mom," Sharon says, "She's the queen of wrapping. When I was younger, my dad didn't make a ton of money. So closer to the holidays my mom would get a job at the local department store wrapping gifts. She only did it for a couple years, eventually my dad moved up in his firm and we didn't need the extra money. But she always knew how to wrap."

"Well she taught you well," Andy compliments, "The first time I saw them I thought you had them wrapped at the store."

"Nope," Sharon smiles, "Have you talked to Vicky more about the kids?"

"I asked her the other day when I dropped them off. She said she was still 'working things out'," Andy comments with air quotes and a sour look on his face.

"Don't push her too hard. Worst case scenario we just do Christmas with them when we have them the next weekend."

"Yeah, New Years Eve. Even with the arrangement I have I'll be lucky to get that weekend off," Andy says with an angry sigh, looking down as he picks at a thread on the rug. Sharon finishes wrapping the gift in front of her before leaning forward and tipping Andy's eyes up to look at her.

"It'll work out," Sharon says again before sitting back down. She wraps the gifts and lets Andy label them before sticking them under the tree. The two of them work in silence for a while before Andy speaks up again.

"When do your parents get in?"

"Two days. The five o clock flight. I'm leaving work a little early, picking up the kids, and then going to get them at the airport. Figured we could get dinner and then I could drop them off at their hotel for the evening. They said they'd take the kids on Friday and then I am on vacation for a couple days."

"Lucky you," Andy smiles.

"Hey, I had to book these days off when I was six months pregnant," Sharon says, pointing the scissors at him with a smile.

"Quite the planner," Andy says as he leans against the couch, "No it'll be good. You deserve a couple days off, especially with your parents in town. Besides I have Thursday off which is what is important, right?"

"Mmhm," Sharon smiles. She pushes the last gift over to Andy before starting to put her supplies back in the box she kept them in, "You're welcome to come to dinner with us after I pick my parents up."

"I don't want to intrude," Andy says as he scribbles Nicole's name on the top before putting it under the tree.

"You're not," Sharon assures him, "Or is that polite code for my father gives you the stink eye every time he sees you and you'd rather not?"

"Little bit of both," Andy admits before helping her continue to clean up. Once they have the living room picked up of their wrapping adventure and toys strewn about they both collapse onto the couch. They sit for a moment, the quiet Christmas music in the background settling in as they look at the tree with bundles of multi colored gifts underneath. This time Sharon opens her mouth to break the silence, breaking Andy out of a sleepy trance.

"My divorce is finalized," Sharon says, not looking at Andy as she continues to look at the tree.

"Yeah?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods, "The paperwork was dropped off at my desk this morning. Thirteen years of my life devolved down to a three page divorce decree."

"Sucks doesn't it?" Andy says as he rolls his head to look at her. Sharon nods and lets out a long sigh, finally looking over at him.

"Yeah," Sharon agrees. She pulls her legs under her body and shuffles a little closer, laying her head against Andy's shoulder. He wraps his arm around her and rests his hand on her hip as he turns his eyes back to the tree, "When we went to Vicky's for Halloween, she mentioned something..."

"What?" Andy asks, curiosity lacing his tone.

"She said…" Sharon trails off before shaking her head, "Nevermind."

"What?" Andy says again, sitting up a bit more to look at Sharon. She shakes her head again and smiles at him reassuringly.

"It's nothing. Really. Forget I said anything," Sharon murmurs. Andy studies her face for a moment before settling back down, sinking into the couch a little bit more as she settles against his shoulder. The two of them end up dozing off after a few minutes, snuggled together on the couch.

Sharon snaps awake a few hours later, looking around with bleary eyes as she takes a moment to pin down her surroundings. She realizes what had woken her after a moment, hearing Ricky crying from down the hall. She untangles herself from Andy, shuffling her way down the hall to her bedroom before picking the crying baby up. She presses a kiss to his cheek as she shushes him, carrying him back down the hallway to the living room before nudging Andy gently.

"Hmm?" Andy grunts, shifting away from her nudging as he opens one eye. Ricky turns his head from Sharon's shoulder and notices Andy, holding his hand out to him as his bottom lip sticks out.

"We fell asleep," Sharon says quietly.

"Mmm," Andy hums, reaching up to rub his eyes before sitting up more, "Wha time is it?"

"Little after two," Sharon says after glancing at the clock. Andy winces as he stretches out, rubbing the back of his neck before standing up. He takes the baby from Sharon, patting the back of his head as he lets out a long yawn.

"What are you doing up then Bub?" Andy asks as he presses a kiss to Ricky's head.

"Just fussing," Sharon says, "He's almost through the night."

"I can take him if you want," Andy offers, his brown eyes sleepily blinking at her as Ricky lets out his own big yawn and snuggles into Andy's chest.

"It's okay," Sharon says with a thankful smile, "If you want to put him down though, be my guest."

"Okay," Andy says, shuffling down the hall towards Sharon's room. He sits in the rocking chair for a few minutes, getting Ricky all the way back to sleep before putting him down in the crib. The little boy lets out a soft sound and curls up on his side as Andy strokes a hand down his back. Sharon rubs her own hand up Andy's back and presses a kiss to his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Andy smiles and lazily presses a kiss to her head, "Sleep well."

"You too," Sharon says, watching him go before starting to get ready for bed. She sinks into the mattress a few minutes later and tries to get comfortable, frowning at the loss of the warm body she'd been snuggled up to earlier.

* * *

[TBC]


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes:** Chapter 2 of 2 today.

* * *

Sharon thanks Andy as he takes the last dish from her and dries it off. He puts it in the cupboard before shutting it and hanging up his hand towel. They had decided to skip midnight mass this year with consideration for Emily and Ricky and instead had gone to mass in the morning before coming back to get Christmas dinner ready to eat by the early afternoon. Sharon and her mother had taken over the kitchen, whipping up a feast as Andy and Bill wrangled the kids for a few hours, keeping Emily away from the tree, promising to open gifts after dinner.

"We should probably rescue your parents from Emily," Andy says with a smile.

"Probably," Sharon smiles back.

"Dinner was great," Andy compliments, "Thank you for cooking."

"It was mostly my mom," Sharon shrugs, rebuffing his compliment slightly.

"Maybe, but you made those potatoes that I like," Andy winks before holding his hand out and walking with Sharon to the living room. Emily was sitting on her knees a few inches away from the tree, eyeballing all of the gifts underneath.

"Can I help Ricky open his?"

"I'm sure he would welcome the help," Sharon says as she takes the baby from her mother, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head as she runs her hand over his hair. She moves to take a seat in the recliner that was set next to the tree, but pauses when the doorbell sounds. She looks at Andy in confusion and he shrugs. She passes the baby over to him as she makes her way out of the living room and down the entry hall to the front door.

Sharon leans up on her toes to check the peephole before a smile spreads across her lips. She unlocks the door and opens it up, revealing Vicky standing on the other side with Nicole and Charlie. The kids greet her with a chorus of Merry Christmas and bright eyes and smiles. Sharon replies to them and wraps them in a hug before telling them that Andy was in the living room. Both of them bolt past her and Sharon steps back to let Vicky in.

"Christmas miracle hmm?" Vicky says with a sheepish shrug.

"Indeed," Sharon nods as she hears both of the kids exclaim their hello to Andy in the other room.

"I hope we aren't intruding," Vicky says as she walks with Sharon to the living room.

"Not at all we were just getting ready to open presents actually, so perfect timing," Sharon says as they step into the living room. Her parents look up from the scene in front of them and Sharon introduces them to Vicky, "Mom Dad, this is Andy's ex-wife, Vicky. Vicky, my parents, Bill and Mary."

"It's nice to meet you," Vicky says with a small smile before looking up at Andy as she sets the kids backpacks down, "I, um…Keep them as long as you want. I don't go back to work until Monday, so I'll be around, but…"

"Thank you," Andy says with a smile, his eye crinkling as he holds Nicole on one knee and Ricky on the other. Charlie was on the floor with Emily, eyeballing the gifts as well.

"You two be good, don't cause too much trouble," Vicky says to the kids.

"We won't," Nicole smiles at her mother.

"I love you, I'll see you soon," Vicky says, murmuring a soft goodbye to Sharon and her parents before retreating from the house. Sharon raises her eyebrows at Andy with a smile before taking Ricky back and moving to sit into her seat. Nicole leans back into Andy's hold and wraps her tiny fingers around his large hand with a content sigh.

"Mom, Dad," Sharon says, "these are Charlie and Nicole Flynn. Charlie, Nic, these are my parents, Emily's grandparents."

"Nicole is my sister and Charlie is my brother," Emily informs her grandparents with a serious look before turning wide brown eyes on her mother, "Can we open presents now?"

"Yes we can open presents," Sharon says with a shake of her head and a smile, "Do you think you can be in charge of handing them out?"

"Yes!" Emily nods enthusiastically before diving under the tree after the colorful boxes. She pulls out a box and furrows her tiny brow as she reads the label before handing it to Nicole.

"Thanks," Nicole says before tearing into the pink polar bear paper. She smiles as she unwraps a Wild Flower My Little Pony, looking up at Andy, "This is perfect. It will go with the Flowerburst one Mom got me."

"Good," Andy smiles, pressing a kiss to her head. Sharon had reminded him that the kids were going to have two Christmases and he should check with Vicky to see what she had bought for the kids before he went shopping.

Emily continues to hand out the gifts, occasionally pausing to open one for herself after deciding that her mother could open Ricky's presents for him. After handing out the last gift Emily crawls under the tree to make sure they weren't missing anything before coming out and announcing that they were all gone. Sharon's parents stay long enough to have a cup of coffee before retreating to their hotel for the evening, promising to be back the next day.

"Can we watch a movie before bed?" Charlie asks as he crumples up paper and stuffs it into the garbage bag that Andy was holding up. The girls were sprawled out on the floor showing each other their new toys as Ricky lie on a blanket next to them gumming on a teething toy as he watched the two of them with interest.

"I think we could arrange that," Andy says as they finish cleaning up the living room, "How about a campout in the living room with some hot chocolate and cookies? Sharon makes some pretty good Christmas cookies."

"Yeah!" Charlie says with a smile. Andy smiles back and ties up the trash bag before nudging Emily with his foot.

"Why don't the three of you go get ready for bed hmm?"

"Okay," Nicole says as she pushes herself up off the floor along with Emily. The three of them make their way down the hall to their rooms to change. Sharon steps back into the room and smiles at Andy as she moves to take the bag from him.

"I've got it, I'll run it out in a second," Andy says as he sets it by the couch, "Since we have a moment while the kids are getting changed…"

"What?" Sharon says as she watches him head over to the tree before reaching in the top back and pulling out a slim box, "What's that?"

"Present, for you."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Sharon says as Andy hands her the box. It was wrapped in a shimmering gold paper with a deep purple bow on top of it, and very obvious Andy hadn't wrapped it himself.

"You've done a lot for me," Andy says, "Two kids, you waited for me while I was in rehab, you gave me a place to rest my head…you treat Charlie and Nic like they're your own…the _least_ I could do is get you a Christmas present."

"Andy…" Sharon sighs and shakes her head as she takes a seat on the couch. She slips her fingernail underneath a piece of the tape and begins to pull the paper away, her eyes widening as she reveals a Robins Egg Blue box.

"Don't get too excited. I just had them clean it up," Andy says, not wanting her to think that he had blown fistfuls of money on her Christmas present when they were both budgeting within an inch of their lives. Sharon finishes pulling the paper off and opens the box, revealing a small, silver, diamond encrusted cross nestled in the tissue paper. Andy's hand reaches up to rub the back of his neck as he watches her face as her fingers stroke over the jewelry, "It was my grandmother's…my sisters got most of her jewelry when she died, but she left this to me. I'd completely forgotten about it until I was going through my stuff in storage. My grandfather worked like a dog to save up enough money to buy that necklace for her. She wore it to church every Sunday."

"It's beautiful…I can't…" Sharon says looking up at Andy, her green eyes damp, "Andy, I can't take this. This should stay in your family."

"You are family," Andy says as he sits down next to Sharon. She looks over at him and rests her hands in her lap, still cradling the box, "I…I want to give you the world, Sharon. And I know that sounds dramatic and like a lot…"

"I don't know that 'a lot' covers half of it," Sharon says with a smirk.

"Just please keep it," Andy says, "Just know that I've thought about this, and you're family, and I want you to have it."

"Okay," Sharon nods, "Thank you. It's lovely. Though I feel bad, I didn't get you anything."

"Don't worry about it," Andy brushes her off, looking up as the kids come back into the room with their pajamas on and pulling their pillows and blankets behind them. Emily stops and looks down at her brother before dropping her items on the ground and grabbing the edge of Ricky's blanket and starting to drag him out of the way.

"Emily!" Sharon admonishes, "Don't drag your brother across the living room."

"But he was in the way."

"Still," Sharon sighs as she puts the lid back on the box before handing it to Andy and getting up to grab Ricky. She grabs his blanket and puts it on the couch, giving him his teething ring back.

"Daddy you said we could have hot chocolate and cookies."

"I did," Andy nods, "Who wants to help me make it?"

"Me!" Each of the kids echo.

"Alright, let's go into the kitchen and get started," Andy tells them, herding them towards the kitchen. He hands the box back to Sharon and she smiles at him as she heads down the hall to her room.

After keeping the kids until Saturday afternoon and dropping them off, Sharon and Andy headed to meet her parents at a beach side cantina. Her parents had insisted that they have an adults night out and offered to pay for a babysitter and dinner if Sharon and Andy picked a place for them to eat.

Sharon smiles at Andy over the rim of her margarita, her tongue darting out to sweep over some of the salt before she swallows. He was listening to her parents tell him about the timeshare that they had just purchased in Park City, hoping that they would be up and running by next Christmas so they could gather the family there for a get away. He winks at her as his eyes drift down, lingering on the cross that was hanging from her neck. She had put it on the day after Christmas and hadn't taken it off.

Sharon's gaze breaks from Andy's and she looks out over the open air dance floor that they were seated next to. There were a few couples swaying back and forth to the live band that was playing. The sun hadn't gone down yet so the temperature was still up for the time being. She jumps and looks up when she feels a hand on her shoulder, smiling at Andy with a questioning look.

"Would you care to dance?"

"Ah…sure," Sharon nods, putting her glass down before pushing her chair back and standing up. She puts her hand in Andy's and follows him over to the dance floor. The two of them slip into the crowd as the song changes, the two of them easily finding a rhythm just as they had four years before. Soon the song music and location begins to fade away as Sharon lets Andy's body guide her, her eyes focused on his as they move. She feels flames of desire begin to lick their way up her body as his hands deftly spin her and trail down her arms.

Her hips move in time with his, her back pressing to his front as her eyes close, hiding the desire filled darkness that had taken over them. Andy's hands grip her hips and he squeezes before pushing her weight out to turn her back around, slipping up to take her hands in his again. He pulls her close and smiles at her, his own eyes darkening as she sashays him backwards with a practiced hip. Her leg hooks around his as he shifts their direction, pushing her back across the floor.

The haze begins to lift as Andy artfully dips her low, keeping a hold on her weight. She realizes that people were clapping and her eyes widen. Andy pulls her back up as her cheeks begin to color for a different reason, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"I think our food is here…" He murmurs in her ear.

"Right, food…" Sharon nods, looking down. Andy tips her chin up and strokes his thumb over her cheek before guiding her back to the table.

"That was quite some footwork, Andy," Mary comments as they make their way back to the table before taking their seats again.

"The school I went to as a kid taught dance classes still," Andy explains.

"Sharon took dance lessons…gosh she must have started taking them when she was Emily's age. Took all kinds of classes, but she always preferred ballet," Bill puts in, "She could have gone professional."

"Daddy," Sharon shakes her head as she grabs her napkin, draping it over her lap before picking her fork up, "Could have done a lot of things. I wanted to be a lawyer."

"Just like your old man," Bill says, with a proud smile.

"Probably the one person in the LAPD that knows that much about legal precedent," Andy compliments. Sharon smiles at him as she digs in.

After they finish and split a dessert, Bill pays for dinner for the four of them as Mary reminds Sharon about church and breakfast in the morning before they had to be to the airport. Sharon nods and assures them that her and the kids would be ready and meet them at the church at eight the next morning before waving them off. Andy opens the passenger side door to his car for her and holds his hand out.

Sharon shakes her head and smiles at him before getting into the car. Andy drives them home and pulls up into the driveway before letting her out again. The tree was still twinkling in the front window and the Christmas lights were framing the lines of the house in a multi-colored glow.

This time Sharon stops Andy before he can go inside, attacking his mouth hungrily as her fingers tangle in his jacket lapels. Andy's hands flail for a moment before grabbing her hips and pulling her closer. Sharon continues to kiss him hungrily before letting him go and grinning up at his lazy stunned look. She steps into the house, leaving the door open for him as she goes to greet Sarah, a playful grin on her face.

* * *

[TBC]


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes:** Thanks for the great reception to the last couple chapters! Please continue to read and review! Also, for perspective on where we are in time it's approximately March of 1990.

* * *

Sharon steps into the house, the silence hitting her in the face. She had been at work for almost forty eight hours straight at the end of an already overtime work week and Andy had been stuck in a case all week. Spring was upon them and the citizens of LA were losing their mind. They had ended up having to lean on Sarah to take care of the kids while they were at work, paying her extra to stay the night.

It was the first time that their schedules had collided and they had been left in the lurch of not having anyone to take the kids. They didn't have family in the area and Andy had balked at the thought of asking Vicky if she could take them. They had been on good terms but not that good, he had declared. So they had been left with calling Sarah and seeing if she was available for the weekend.

Considering it was after 10 and the quiet of the house, the kids were in bed. With the hours he had been putting in she assumed Andy was there too. Sharon kicks off her shoes and hangs up her purse, beginning to unbutton her jacket as she makes her way down the hall, jumping when she sees Andy sitting at the kitchen table.

"Jesus, you scared the cra…" Sharon trails off as she steps into the kitchen and turns on the light. Andy was sitting at the table with a bottle of whisky sitting in front of him. The cap was discarded on the table and the tumbler in front of him was full of the amber liquid. From what she could quickly deduce he most likely hadn't drank anything more than a mouthful if anything, "What's going on?"

"The second I left work…I was on autopilot," Andy says, not lifting his eyes from the glass, leaving his face shrouded in shadow, "I just wanted to forget everything that has happened over the last week. I got home, I paid Sarah, I finished putting the kids to bed, I grabbed a glass of ice, filled it up and the smell hit me…I stopped."

"Your case?" Sharon asks as she steps closer to the table, finishing unbuttoning her jacket before shrugging it off and hanging it on the chair across from Andy. Her hand reaches out as he nods, taking the bottle and pulling it to her side of the table.

"I didn't even think about going to a meeting…I think about it when things get rough with Vicky or some asshole at work pisses me off…but when I'm disgusted with the scum of humanity…" Andy trails off and shakes his head, his fingers curling tighter around the glass, "All I wanna do is crawl in that bottle and forget."

"You want to tell me what happened?" Sharon asks as she screws the lid back on and sets it on the ground next to her. She knew that the Robbery/Homicide group had been working on a critical missing that hadn't turned out well, but that was about all she knew. Her and Andy hadn't crossed paths long enough to talk about anything besides the kids.

"When we found her…I could have sworn I was looking at Emily," Andy describes, "Dressed in a little ballerina outfit, long brown hair, same age, same height…except Casey's eyes were blue and they were terrified. And he tried to throw her away like she was trash."

"Oh, Andy," Sharon says, feeling the knot form in her throat at his description. It had been her worst nightmare both times she was pregnant, dreaming about the possibility of one of the kids getting kidnapped and taken away from her. It still plagued her after long days, when she didn't get to hold them long enough when she got home. She steps around to his side of the table, prying his fingers from the glass, noticing the layer of melted ice on top as she pushes it away from him. He finally looks up at her as he feels her fingers dive into his hair and her eyes widen when she sees the gash on his temple and the swelling bruise, "What happened?"

"I took a swing at the guy. Trust me he looks worse," Andy says.

"I suppose your conduct jacket will be on my desk Monday morning," Sharon reprimands, as her fingers brush over the purpled skin. Andy tries to drop his eyes again and Sharon tightens her fingers in his hair, keeping his focus on her, "Hey…she's here. She's just down the hall. And instead of doing this…and torturing yourself over every little thing that happened this week, over what choices you could have made differently, go sit with her. Watch her sleep, hug her extra tight in the morning, and go to a meeting."

"Five hours…" Andy says as he looks at her, "All I needed was five more hours."

"I know," Sharon nods. She loosens her grip and pulls him closer, his head resting against her chest as she presses a kiss to the top of his head. She hugs him for a few moments, her eyes trained on the glass sitting on the kitchen table as her fingers work through his hair gently. Her fingers still and she sighs as she loosens her grip on him. Andy moves to pull back and her fingers catch his hair again, this time tightening to a painful tug as she forces him to look her in the eye, "And Andy?"

"Yeah?" Andy says after a large swallow, nerves finally settling in. Sharon's eyes narrow and her face hardens into the look he had seen her give dozens of other officers when she came to interview them.

"If you ever bring another drop of alcohol into this house," Sharon starts, her tone menacingly low, "I will not hesitate to throw you out with my bare hands. I will _not_ put my kids through that. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Andy mumbles. Sharon lets him go after another beat before picking up the glass and bottle and taking them to the sink. She dumps all of the liquid down the drain, running water after it as she rinses out the bottle before throwing it into the trash. She jumps when she feels Andy's hands on her waist and tightens her grip on the counter, "I'm sorry."

"I know that this is always going to be a problem, always going to be a temptation. And I'm here for you, I am. I'll talk, I'll listen, I'll hold you…but I'm not putting up with you drinking again. And I'm not going to expose the kids to that."

"I know," Andy says, dropping his forehead against the crown of her head.

"Go sit with Emily, I'm taking a shower and going to bed."

"Okay," Andy says as he lets her go, Sharon slipping away from him and down the hall to her room, shutting the door behind her. Andy turns off the lights in the kitchen and locks the house up before going down the hall to Emily's room. He quietly pulls over the chair that was in the corner, sitting it closer to her bed before sinking down into it with a sigh as he settles in to watch the little girl sleep. His eyes begin to droop as he counts the rises of her chest as she breathes, brown hair splayed across her face. Eventually his eyes close and his body relaxes as he drifts off to sleep.

Andy wakes up in the morning when he feels Emily trying to climb into his lap. He grunts as he opens his eyes with a wide yawn before reaching down and lifting her into his lap. Emily smiles and snuggles up to him, closing her eyes again. Andy wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her head as he holds her close.

"You don't have to go again right?"

"Not today," Andy mumbles.

"Good," Emily sighs. Andy runs his fingers through her hair, untangling the curls gently as he goes. The two of them sit in silence for a while before he hears the door open and looks back to see Sharon standing in the doorway. Her eyes soften slightly at the scene before she speaks up.

"Emily breakfast is ready," Sharon tells her daughter, "I made pancakes."

"Mama!" Emily exclaims before disentangling herself from her father's grasp. She slips down to the floor and stuffs her feet into a pair of princess slippers before running over to her mother and holding her hands up, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too my darling girl," Sharon says as she squeezes Emily close, putting her small frame on her hip as she peppers kisses over her face. Emily giggles and tells her mother about what she had done with Sarah as she carries her down the hall.

Andy sighs as Sharon leaves without saying good morning and rubs his hand over his face, he was in trouble for last night. He gets up and puts the chair back before going down the hall and grabbing some new clothes from his room and heading into the bathroom. He takes a shower and gets dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before heading down to the kitchen. Emily was sitting at the table plowing through a stack of pancakes as Sharon kept Ricky occupied by tearing up a pancake and putting it on the tray of his high chair. He was getting pretty adept at picking up bits of food and feeding himself, though he did have a tendency to end up with bits of it in his hair.

Andy ruffles his fingers through Ricky's hair, dislodging a couple pieces of fruit and pancake before pressing a kiss to the boy's head. Ricky looks up at him and grins, showing off the couple teeth that he had. He grabs a bite of pancake and lifts his hand, offering it to Andy.

"Oh thank you," Andy says as he playfully eats the bite from Ricky's hand, getting him to giggle.

"There's some extra on the stove if you're hungry," Sharon offers.

"I think I'll just stick with some coffee," Andy says, "I'm going to head out and hit a meeting."

"You said you weren't leavin," Emily whines as Andy fills a to-go cup with coffee.

"I'm not going to be gone that long, I'll be a couple hours," Andy assures her as he screws the lid to his cup on before coming around to the table and leaning down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "If you're good for your mom I might even bring lunch back with me. Might even happen to have a turkey and cheese sandwich with some hot peppers on it."

"Yes!" Emily exclaims, grinning up at Andy. He smiles back and ruffles her hair before taking a sip out of his cup as he looks over at Sharon.

"I will give you a call when I'm on my way home and I can pick up lunch?"

"Sure," Sharon nods. Andy presses a kiss to Ricky's head before grabbing his car keys and heading out with a sigh and a shake of his head.

* * *

[TBC]


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter - I wasn't sure how Andy's slip-up was going to go over. Please read and review :D

* * *

Andy sighs as he watches Sharon head off down the hall with Emily and Ricky, leaving him alone on the couch. She'd basically been giving him the cold shoulder since the month before when she had come home and found him in the kitchen. He'd been making an effort to go to more meetings, finally finding one that he liked and felt comfortable at at a church in Silver Lake. He'd marked it out in his schedule to always go to at least the Thursday night one, but would fill in throughout the week as needed.

Andy finally felt like he was back on the right track after his almost slip up and was focused on trying to get Sharon to trust him again, or at least open back up since she kept saying she did trust him. He was still trying very much to figure her out. She enjoyed the cross he had gotten her for Christmas, but he quickly learned that her affections couldn't be bought, no matter how heartfelt the gift. He had been racking his brain for days; what could he do for her that wasn't a gift, but was a gesture that worked as an apology and maybe erred on the side of romantic.

After watching a few more minutes of the nightly news Andy jumps up from the couch when he gets an idea. He digs his wallet out and flips through the couple of business cards he had before finding the right one. He picks up the phone and dials the number scribbled on one and putting in the extension when prompted. He listens to the answering machine greeting before starting to leave his message.

"Hey Gavin, it's Andy...this is more of a social call but I didn't have your personal number...I wanted to do something for Sharon and I was hoping you could help me out with that. I will be at work tomorrow if you want to give me a call back there. The phone number is 213-275-5273 extension 472. Thanks," Andy says before hanging up. If he could get this planned out without Sharon finding out, he should be able to get back into her good graces. Managing to get Gavin on the phone the next day Andy was able to put his plan into action.

It was a couple weeks and the beginning of May by the time the timing of everything worked out. Sharon had warmed up slightly, but things weren't like they used to be. So Andy was hoping that his plan would give her the extra nudge. He stops the swing he was pushing Ricky in and grabs the little boy as he hears the doorbell ring, telling Emily he would be right back. He makes his way through the kitchen to the front door, smiling at Gavin when he opens it up.

"Hey Gavin."

"Sergeant," Gavin smiles as he steps into the house, "How are you?"

"Good, just keeping the kids occupied in the back yard. Sharon should be out soon," Andy says, trailing off when Sharon makes her way down the hallway. Her hair was damp and she was dressed in a short sleeve cream yellow sundress. Her eyes widen a fraction when she sees Gavin before a smile eases over her lips.

"Gavin, what are you doing here? Andy and I were just getting ready to take the kids out."

"Actually, I was thinking I could keep the kids and you could go have lunch with Gavin," Andy jumps in with a suggestive smile, "It's been a while since you've had any time to yourself to enjoy the afternoon."

"Oh," Sharon says, surprise flitting across her face, "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Andy nods, bouncing Ricky with a reassuring smile, "We'll be just fine."

"Okay," Sharon nods, "Let me just go say goodbye to Emily and grab my purse and then we can go."

"Sure," Gavin nods with a smile. Sharon gives Andy a small look of appreciation before heading out back to say goodbye to Emily.

"So, everything is already set up. All you need to do is just get her to the spa by 1:30. They'll take care of everything from there."

"I can do that," Gavin says, "You think she's going to like it?"

"I hope so," Andy breathes, straightening up when Sharon comes back with her purse.

"Ready to go," Sharon smiles at Gavin, before looking at Andy, "You sure you'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine. Ricky, give Mom a kiss," Andy smiles, holding Ricky out to her so he could give her a kiss. The baby drools on her cheek as he giggles and Sharon laughs pressing a kiss to his cheek before using his bib to wipe his mouth off.

"Okay, I'll be back later," Sharon says, squeezing Andy's arm before following Gavin out of the house. Andy goes back out to the back yard where Emily was running through the sprinkler.

"What do you want for lunch, Em?" Andy asks as he sinks down into one of their lawn chairs, sitting Ricky on his knee.

"Peanut butter!" Emily says as she leaps through the sprinkler before running over to Andy, "With bananas!"

"Peanut butter and banana sandwich?"

"Mmhm," Emily nods.

"I think I can do that," Andy smiles, "Why don't you grab your towel and go in and put some regular clothes on, hmm?"

"Okay," Emily agrees as she grabs her princess beach towel before wrapping it around her tiny body and going inside. Andy reaches over to turn the water off before getting up and taking Ricky inside. He sets the baby up in his highchair before beginning to make lunch for the both of them.

After feeding the kids and putting them both down for a short nap Andy takes them over to a friend of Sharon's who had agreed to keep them for the evening. Her daughter and Emily were in the same preschool class and best friends, and she didn't mind taking Ricky as well. Andy kisses both of the kids goodbye after explaining Ricky's schedule and thanking her profusely once more.

Once he's back home Andy showers and cleans up the house before starting in on dinner. He takes the time to make some basic noodles while a sauce cooks on the stove, keeping his eyes on the clock as he works. He just sets two plates on the table and lights a couple candles as he hears the front door open. He wipes his hands off on the towel hooked in his jeans before putting it on the table and walking out to meet Sharon.

"Andy?" Sharon calls out as she sets her purse on the table in the entryway, smiling at him as he comes around the corner, an apprehensive look on his face.

"Hey, have a good day?"

"Andy, I had a lovely day," Sharon says as she steps closer, a bright smile on her face, "You planned all that for me?"

"When's the last time you did something for yourself without having to worry about the kids or taking me with you?" Andy says, with a roll of his eyes. He takes her hands in his, "You do so much for them, and for me. And you deserve your own day every once in a while."

"Still, lunch with Gavin…the spa…Andy, that was the best massage I've ever had in my life," Sharon says as she squeezes his hands.

"Well the day isn't over yet," Andy says, taking her into the dining room.

"Oh Andy," Sharon murmurs as she takes in the scene before her. Two places set across from each other at the table, real dishes, candles flickering in the breeze of the open windows. There was a small bouquet of flowers set off to the side as well, pulling the entire table together.

"I cooked your favorite," Andy tells her as he pulls her chair out for her before pushing her in once she sits down, "And there is a dessert cooling in the fridge for us for after."

"This looks amazing," Sharon says as she drapes her napkin over her lap, before looking up, "Where are the kids? I know they can't be in bed already."

"I took them over to Michelle's house. Sam was thrilled to have Emily over and she said she didn't mind watching Ricky as well. I dropped them off earlier this afternoon with well stocked bags and the portable playpen and told her we would pick them up in the morning on our way to church."

"So we have the whole place to ourselves?"

"Mmhm," Andy nods as he takes a seat.

"I don't think I've been completely kid free since Emily was born," Sharon says as she picks up her fork and mixes her pasta before twirling a serving around the utensil. She hums as she takes the first bite, licking stray sauce from her lip, "God, this is delicious."

"I'm glad you like it," Andy smiles before starting to eat himself. The two of them make idle conversation, mostly about the kids and work before Sharon changes the subject as she watches the pasta twirl around her fork slowly.

"I suppose I should probably apologize," Sharon says quietly.

"What do you have to apologize for?" Andy asks as he sets his fork down.

"I've been giving you the cold shoulder for a while," Sharon says as she looks up at Andy, setting her fork down as well with a sigh, "I think I realized that I was falling for you too fast...We've gotten very close over the last year and seeing you sitting there with that bottle I realized that things were still precarious, and maybe we were moving a little _too_ fast."

"We have gotten close," Andy agrees, "I like that we've gotten close. And I don't want you to have to worry about me...my problem is mine."

"I do worry about you though," Sharon says with a sigh, leaning back in her chair, "I worry about you because you're my friend, you're my kids father...I worry about you for you. I'm always going to be jaded about everything that happened with Jack. Instead of trying to get help to get better he just walked away. No matter what I am always going to be afraid of losing you to a bottle again."

"I don't want you to be afraid," Andy says, reaching across the table to take Sharon's hand in his. Her fingers easily curl around his and she takes a deep breath as her thumb strokes over his skin.

"When you kiss me, I feel things that I never felt for Jack," Sharon says, looking up into Andy's eyes, "And when I feel those things I feel guilty and I feel scared. He was supposed to be the rest of my life…and because of things I did, things I did with you…he's not."

"Sharon, he…"

"I know he left. I know it didn't matter if Emily was his or yours, he still left. He still took my money…I don't see it as he did more wrong than I did," Sharon stops him, "We both did wrong…and we fell apart. Part of that was my fault…running to you after he left, getting pregnant with Ricky, letting the anger and the guilt and everything just fester. I pretty much had divorce papers written up by the time he came back. I didn't want Jack anymore…I didn't love him, not like I used to. I was jaded by three years of alcoholism and months of him being gone. He didn't know anything about the things that could have made him do that and he _still_ did them."

Andy stays silent as he lets her gather her thoughts, his own thumb stroking over her hand as he holds it.

"I want to be with you, Andy. I do. I have a lot of emotional baggage with how things turned out. And I'm not blaming you for _any_ of this. My decisions were and are my decisions. And I wouldn't change them for anything," Sharon says, looking away as her eyes fill with tears, "I get lost in my head sometimes, trying to deal with things. Sometimes you're going to have to pull me out."

"Hey," Andy says as he gets up out of his chair and rounds the table. He kneels down next to Sharon's chair and cups her face in his hands. Sharon lifts stormy green eyes to his as she reaches up to cover one of his hands, "Let me carry some of that weight, Sharon. I know this isn't going to be easy and that we're going to butt heads every once in a while. But you don't have to carry all of that yourself anymore."

"I feel like I've been such a bitch to you," Sharon murmurs.

"You haven't," Andy assures her. Sharon sighs and pulls him closer, pressing her lips against his, kissing him softly. She pulls back after a moment and presses a second chaste kiss to his mouth before running her fingers through his hair as she looks in his eyes.

"We are so messed up," She murmurs before letting out a chuckle with a small grin.

"I'd rather be messed up with you then be anywhere else," Andy replies with a smile.

"Good," Sharon says, stroking his cheek, "I'm not letting you go anywhere."

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[TBC]


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes:** Thanks to the couple guest reviewers that popped up after the last couple chapters, I love hearing from you! To one reviewer in particular, I have been wavering back and forth on how Rusty will manifest in this story, if at all. Let me know if you guys have thoughts about this inclusion.

I think the next chapter after this might be the last for this specific fic, but I will plan on continuing with this set of characters in a sequel. Please yell violently if that sounds like a bad idea. Also I will plan on having the first chapter of that fic ready at the same time so you guys can immediately jump over.

Thanks again for all of the support through this fic, it has honestly brightened many of my days as I've been writing and reading all of your feedback. As always please continue to read and review.

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Sharon presses a kiss to Ricky's head as he lets out a big yawn rubbing her hand up and down his back. Both of the kids had doctors appointments that morning so Sharon had taken the day off, planning to spend the afternoon preparing for Ricky's birthday celebration later that night. Vicky was bringing Nicole and Charlie over for the evening and they were having a cook out with the kids and a couple friends.

"I think the birthday boy is ready for his nap," Sharon tells him before shifting her hold on him and laying him down in the playpen in the living room. Ricky whines and tries to push himself back up to get to her, crying as his mother puts her hand on his belly to keep him laying down. She gives him his pacifier and rubs her hand over his tummy, humming quietly as she gets him to go to sleep. Sharon pulls away after a couple minutes once he dozes off and makes her way out to the backyard where Emily was playing on the swing set, "Emily, do you want to help me make a cake for tonight?"

"Yeah!" Emily says as she hops off of the swing before running into the house.

"Why don't you wash up while I get the stuff out?" Sharon suggests. Emily pulls her stool over and climbs up, reaching forward to turn the faucet on to wash her hands. Sharon closes the sliding glass door and goes through the pantry as she gets things out for the cake before turning the oven on to preheat. She puts on an apron and gives Emily the shirt of Andy's that she had adopted as her own apron, pulling her stool over to stand next to her.

Sharon pulls Emily's hair back into a ponytail before washing her own hands and beginning to walk Emily through measuring the ingredients out into the proper vessels. She holds onto the mixer with Emily and guides it through the bowl, pouring the liquid in as they go, watching as the flour mixture turns into a dark brown batter. Emily is handed both of the beaters to lick off as Sharon pours the cake out into two cake pans before putting them in the oven and setting a timer.

"Are we making frosting?" Emily asks as her tongue darts out to lap up the chocolate batter.

"We are, should we make chocolate or white?" Sharon asks as she takes the beaters and bowls, washing everything out quickly.

"Mmmm, white," Emily says. Sharon wipes her daughter's face off before getting out the things to make a simple buttercream. The little girl watches with rapt attention as Sharon manages to turn butter and powdered sugar into a smooth creamy frosting. Sharon scoops most of the frosting out of the bowl into another before getting the food coloring out. She unscrews the blue and hands it to Emily before directing her to squeeze some drops in as she continues to mix. Soon they have a small amount of bright blue frosting, both getting stashed in the fridge to use later once the cakes were done.

"Hungry for lunch?" Sharon asks as she wipes down the counters, the smell of chocolate starting to emanate from the oven.

"Mmhm," Emily nods as she takes her shirt apron off handing it over to her mother. Sharon undoes her own and hangs it up, looking in the fridge.

"How about a sandwich and some carrots? Turkey and cheese?" Sharon suggests as she gets the things out to make Emily lunch.

"Sure!" Emily says, reaching up to grab two plates from the cupboard before putting them on the counter. Sharon assembles Emily a sandwich and cuts up a few carrot sticks before settling her at the table and making her own lunch.

"Why don't you take a little nap after lunch? Then you can help me get everything set up for tonight?" Sharon suggests as she sits down next to Emily, starting in on her sandwich.

"I'm not tired," Emily says as she comps down on a carrot.

"Why don't you at least lay down and watch a movie?"

"Will you lay with me?" Emily asks, looking over at Sharon.

"Sure for a little bit," Sharon says with a small smile before the egg timer dings. She gets up from the table and gets the cakes out, testing them before setting them aside to cool. The two of them finish up lunch and Sharon puts their dishes in the sink before picking Emily up with a small grunt, "When did you get so big?"

"You keep giving me sandwiches," Emily giggles and locks her legs around Sharon's waist. She carries her into the living room and sets her down on the couch before putting in a video tape of Emily's favorite movie. She sits down on the couch and Emily snuggles up, laying her head in her mother's lap. Sharon runs her fingers through Emily's hair as they watch the movie, the little girl falling asleep a few minutes into it.

Sharon lets her fall into a deeper sleep before getting up and replacing her lap with a pillow and getting up off the couch. She checks on Ricky and makes her way down the hall. She opens the door to Andy's room, looking around for a moment before going into her room and grabbing the edge of the crib, starting to push it out of the room. She pushes it out into the hall and pivots, pushing it into Andy's room and parking it next to the day bed.

She moves the changing table as well before closing the door to the bedroom and letting a small smile flit across her lips as she grabs the baby monitor and carries it into the bathroom. Sharon turns the shower on and lets the water heat up before undressing and stepping in. She takes a shower erring on the longer side as she takes the extra few minutes to apply a deep conditioner and shave her legs. She rinses off as the water starts to go cold and wraps her body in a fluffy robe as she steps out.

Sharon towel dries her hair, leaving it to dry curly after running a little bit of hair product through it. She puts on a small amount of makeup before stepping back into her room and grabbing a matching bra and underwear set. The robe is discarded in favor of the undergarments as she stands in front of her closet, chewing on her bottom lip as she decides what to wear. She grabs a lavender sun dress, pulling it on over her head before taking a look at herself in the mirror. She spins to look at the back and takes a deep breath as she eyes her figure, her critique broken as she hear Ricky starting to stir.

Later in the afternoon she hears a couple cars pull up just as she was setting everything out in the back yard while Emily pushed Ricky in the swing. She hears the front door open and Andy's voice carry through the house as he talks to whoever had come home with him. She steps in the back door and smiles at him as he comes through the kitchen, talking to Provenza. The two had gotten split up when Andy had gone to rehab, but had maintained their friendship after the fact.

"Hey!" Andy says with a smile, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips, "Louie was just telling me that he learned a new word this week thanks to you."

"Oh did he?" Sharon smiles, winking at his friend, "You know me, always looking to better people's vocabulary."

"Where are the kids?"

"Emily and Ricky are out back, and I just took the food out if you want to start the grill," Sharon says, "Vicky called a little bit ago and said she was on her way."

"Do you need me to take anything else out?"

"Nope," Sharon shakes her head and smiles before looking at Provenza, "There's a cooler of ice out on the patio if you want to put your drinks in there."

"Hanging out with the ex wife, Flynn?" Provenza admonishes as he carries his six pack outside.

"I don't think you're one to talk," Andy says as he playfully shoves Provenza, "What is it now two or three?"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Provenza waves him off, nestling the cans into the ice. Sharon rolls her eyes and shakes her head at them before heading towards the front door as the bell rings.

Andy mans the grill for the evening, cooking up a variety of burgers and hot dogs as Sharon keeps an eye on the kids and plays hostess with their guests. After the sun begins to set Andy lights the candles on the cake that she had frosted earlier in the day as she holds Ricky in her lap, keeping his tiny fingers from digging into the frosting. After they sing 'Happy Birthday' to the little boy Emily helps him blow out the candles before asking for a piece with a lot of frosting.

Andy cuts the cake and dishes it out, giving Sharon a piece for Ricky to try. Ricky immediately reaches out and digs his fingers into the frosting, bringing his hand to his mouth to suck it off. He laughs as Ricky's eyes widen at the sweetness before reaching out to grab more. By the time the plate was empty most of the cake and frosting was covering his face and tangled in his hair but he was licking his lips and grinning happily.

"Oh you are such a mess," Sharon grimaces and shakes her head.

"I think that means it's bath time," Andy says, tickling the boy's side.

"I think so," Sharon agrees. She thanks everyone for coming before taking Ricky inside to clean him up. She gets him a bath and a bottle before laying him down for bed. She closes the door to Andy's room and makes her way out back where Vicky was helping Andy pick up as the kids keep playing together.

"I'm glad you guys were able to make it today," Sharon tells her as she grabs a stack of paper plates and tosses them into the trashbag Andy was holding.

"Me too," Vicky says with a smile as she bundles up the table cloth before handing it to Andy, "The four of them have so much fun together."

"They do," Sharon nods with a smile, watching as Emily and Nicole chase Charlie around the yard. The three of them finish cleaning up before Vicky tells the kids to say goodnight. They wave goodbye to Emily before hugging Sharon and then Andy, following their mom out to the car with one last wave. Andy carries the few dishes they had used into the kitchen as Sharon takes Emily back to clean up before bed. After tucking her daughter in Sharon goes back to the kitchen and sighs as she wraps her arms around Andy's waist from behind, holding him close as he washes dishes, "There's nothing sexier than watching you wash dishes."

"Oh yeah?" Andy grins as he puts the last dish in the drying rack.

"Mmhm," Sharon hums as she squeezes him before letting him go.

"You did a great job today," Andy compliments as he turns around, putting his hands on her waist, "Everything was great, especially the cake."

"Emily helped me make that," Sharon tells him with a smile, "Provenza thinks I'm a rat doesn't he?"

"He's coming around," Andy says, "Though four months of sensitivity training probably set it back a bit."

"Mmm," Sharon shrugs, "I can live."

"Hard to believe he's a year old already hmm?" Andy changes the subject, referring to Ricky.

"It is, it goes so fast," Sharon sighs wistfully.

"They're both growing up to be amazing kids," Andy says as he pulls Sharon closer, "Plans for anymore?"

"I don't know. We're pretty busy with the four of them," Sharon shrugs, "Of course I might reevaluate that statement again in a few years. What do you think?"

"I think the four of them right now is great," Andy smiles before pressing a kiss to her lips. Sharon hums as she deepens it, pressing her body closer to his. His hands slip from her hips to her backside as he leans against the counter.

"So, I have a proposition," Sharon murmurs as she pulls back, looking up at Andy, "And it's half a proposition and half I already did something about it."

"Sounds interesting," Andy says, raising his eyebrows.

"I want you to move in with me," Sharon says.

"Well. I already live here, so I think we're beyond that question," Andy smiles.

"I mean really move in with me," Sharon reiterates, "I don't want you to just be my roommate. I want you to stay in my bed. I want you to move in _with me_."

"Oh. Move in with you, move in with you," Andy replies, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, and I already moved Ricky's crib into your room this afternoon, so I'm really hoping you say yes."

"Oh did you?"

"Yes, I did," Sharon nods. Andy smiles and rubs his hands up her back, looking into her eyes as she tips her head back.

"Does that make me your boyfriend?" He inquires.

"Do people still have boyfriends and girlfriends in their 30s?" Sharon rebuts with a playful smile, "For lack of a better term at the moment though, yes. If you'll have me."

"All I've ever wanted is to have you," Andy murmurs, brushing her hair back from her face.

"So take me to bed and have me," Sharon murmurs, flashing darkened eyes at him as she steps back, taking his hands in hers and pulling him down the hall.

* * *

[TBC]


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes:** Thanks everyone for coming along on this ride with me! This is the last chapter for this fic specifically, but we will be picking up on the sequel, "Die with You", which is getting it's first chapter posted in conjunction with this. So, please please please, head on over and continue following along with Sharon and Andy as they continue their relationship.

Thanks!

* * *

Sharon shuts the door to her room after pulling Andy inside. She turns on the bedside lamp before turning off the overhead light. She flexes her fingers and sighs as she looks up at Andy.

"I've been thinking about this all day and suddenly…I am very nervous," She says, biting her bottom lip. Andy smiles and puts his hands on her hips.

"Don't be nervous. I have inside information that we're very good at this part," He reminds her, "And consider the fact that we were slightly inebriated then too."

"I don't know that that helps," Sharon says with a grin. Andy rolls his eyes and leans down, capturing Sharon's lips. She moans and kisses him back hungrily as her fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him closer. She opens her mouth to his tongue as her body presses closer to his. After a few minutes of making out Sharon pulls back and pants as her tongue darts out to lick her bottom lip, looking up at Andy with dark eyes, "That definitely helps."

"Good," Andy smiles. Sharon smiles back at him and brings her hands down, starting to unbutton his shirt. She runs her fingers down his front, pulling at the buttons before she gets the fabric to open. She pushes it off his shoulders and drags her nails over his undershirt.

"I always wondered if my memories were a little blurred…" Sharon murmurs as she grabs the white fabric and tugs it up and over his head, "But you really do look as good as I thought you did."

"Boxing," Andy says as he flings the shirt off to the side.

"It works," Sharon approves as she runs her fingers over his skin before pressing her lips to his chest. She moves her mouth over the warm skin, playfully teasing one of his nipples with the pad of her tongue. Her body pushes him back towards the bed as she bites teasingly. Her hand grabs at his belt before he can tumble back against the blankets, looking up at him through her lashes.

Andy's hands skim down her sides and he grabs her dress, pulling it up and over her head. He discards the fabric in the direction of his shirt and takes a deep breath as his eyes wander over her form. Sharon's insecurities spring forth as she sucks her stomach in a little bit more and stands up slightly straighter.

"Don't," Andy says, his eyes flicking away from her chest and up to hers, "You're…perfect."

"Hardly," Sharon shakes her head, blushing.

"You are," Andy says, his hands running over her bare skin and pulling her closer as he kisses her. His fingers pull at her bra, undoing the clasp as her hands work at his belt. Quickly they fall into bed together, both undressed as they make their way under the blankets. Sharon laughs as Andy pushes her down into the mattress before kissing his way down her body. Her laughter turns to moans as he eagerly kisses and laps at her skin before burying his face between her legs. She gasps as his tongue moves teasingly over her, her hands grabbing at his hair to pull him up. Her thumb swipes over his bottom lip as she smiles at him.

"Let's work up to that," Sharon murmurs before capturing his lips.

"You sure?" Andy murmurs against her mouth.

"Very," Sharon assures him, running her fingers through his hair as her legs wrap around his hips. Jack had never been one to reciprocate oral sex, and while she was very interested, what she was more interested in at the moment was Andy inside of her. Her hand slips between them and she cups him, wrapping her fingers around his shaft and stroking him, "All I want is you…"

"God, Sharon," Andy groans, bucking into her hand. She lazily strokes him for a few moments before he pulls her hand away, pinning it next to her head. His eyes lock onto hers and she smiles at him, "Protection?"

Sharon laughs as he asks her, tightening her legs around him, "Third time's the charm hmm?"

"Don't make fun of me," Andy tells her, his hands tightening around her wrists. Sharon shakes her head and presses a kiss to his lips.

"I got an IUD after Ricky," Sharon tells him. Andy groans and drop this head to her shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever heard anything so beautiful," He says as he kisses her again. She kisses him back eagerly as she presses her chest into his, egging him on. Andy guides himself against her, rubbing his head against her entrance before slowly pressing into her. Sharon gasps in pain and bites her lip as she looks up at him, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sharon whispers, "Just been a while."

"I'll go slow," Andy murmurs, moving his hips slowly until he sinks into her. Sharon runs her fingertips up his back and swallows as she adjusts. She flexes her hips against his after a moment, encouraging him to move. Andy lets her wrists go and braces himself as he pulls back out before pushing back in.

This time Sharon offers a small moan in return and rocks her hips back into his. Her skin flushes as her fingers trail up his sides before wrapping her arms around him to anchor herself to him. The two of them move in sync, easily finding a rhythm as they work with and against each other.

Her nails dig lightly into his skin, scratching gently across his back and slipping as a sweat breaks out across his skin. Sharon's darkened hazel eyes lock onto the black pools that Andy's eyes had become and she whimpers his name as her muscles clench around him. She arches her hips up and grinds against him, gasping as he wraps an arm around her waist and anchors her to him, changing his angle.

"Oh my god yes," Sharon moans and closes her eyes as she tips her head back, "Right there. Harder."

"God," Andy grunts as he rocks his hips harder against hers. He moves his hand that wasn't holding her to grab the headboard, clutching the wood in his fingers as his knuckles turn white. Sharon grins and grabs his face in her hands, pulling him down and kissing him hungrily.

"I'm so close," Sharon whispers against his mouth as she rocks her hips hungrily against his, searching for the perfect amount of friction. Andy groans and speeds up the pace of his hips, his eyes locked on hers. Sharon whimpers and moans as he moves in and out of her. She bites her lip as her toes curl and she tightens her legs around Andy as she feels heat flood her nerve endings, making her cry out, "Andy!"

"Shit," Andy groans, continuing to move through her release. He captures her lips in a deep kiss as he buries himself in her heat with his own release. She moans as she kisses him back, holding him close as she rubs her hands up his back. Andy sinks down against her with a groan, his forehead resting against hers as he pants, "Sharon…"

"Oh Andy," Sharon murmurs as she hugs him close, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. The two of them slowly come down from their high and Andy slips away from Sharon, kissing her forehead before getting out of bed, "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," Andy says, padding into her small ensuite before returning a moment later with a warm washcloth. He slides back under the blankets and delicately cleans her up before pressing a kiss to her mouth. Sharon smiles and runs her fingers through his hair.

"Hi."

"Hi," Andy murmurs, kissing her again. Sharon wraps her arms around him as he drops down to the bed, snuggling up against him as she runs her fingertips up his chest. She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs as her eyes droop closed. He easily tangles his fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp as he cradles her close.

"I've missed you," Sharon murmurs before she drifts off. Andy presses a kiss to her hairline, inhaling the scent that was uniquely her as his own eyes close.

"I missed you too…"

After another interlude in the middle of the night Sharon stretches out next to Andy a little after the sun begins to rise, hearing the birds chirp outside her window. She lets out a long yawn before casting her eyes up to Andy's and smiling when she sees chocolate brown looking back at her. She twists around in the tangled sheets, repositioning herself to better observe him

"Morning sunshine," Andy murmurs, his hand trailing up her spine.

"Morning," Sharon murmurs, her chin resting on his sternum as her eyes take him in. He had a heavy shadow on his cheeks and his hair was tussled from sleep and sex. He looked happy, the realization making her eyes crinkle as she smiles. Andy smiles back before looking up in alarm as the bedroom door opens and Emily stumbles in, a miserable look on her tiny face.

"Mama, I don't feel good," Emily mumbles before promptly throwing up bright blue vomit all over the hardwood floor. Sharon jumps up out of bed and throws on Andy's shirt before picking Emily up under her arms to carry her to the bathroom. Andy drops his head back to the bed and groans, just as Ricky starts babbling through the baby monitor.

"Kids…" Andy grumbles as he gets out of bed and manages to find his underwear. He uses a bath towel to wipe up the throw up before throwing it in the trash can and going to get Ricky. The little boy had pulled himself up to stand in his crib and was looking at Andy through the bars with a bright grin, "What are you doing there buddy?"

"Mama!"

"Hey, we've talked about this," Andy tells him as he picks him up from the crib, "None of that talking stuff without your mom around."

"Mama," Ricky says again. Andy shakes his head as he changes the boy before taking him back to the bedroom. He walks through to the ensuite and finds Sharon kneeling on the floor next to Emily and holding her hair back. She gives him an unamused look as Emily pulls back and wipes her mouth on her nightgown.

"I feel better now," The little girl mumbles with traces of blue smeared across her face.

"I hope so, you'll be lucky if I let you eat anything besides vegetables for a week," Sharon says as she gets up and plugs the tub before turning the water on and directing her attention to Andy, "She's been eating frosting all morning."

"Told you we should have sent that home with Provenza," Andy says as he shifts his hold on Ricky to hand him over, "Here, you get him going. I will get her in the bath and finish cleaning up the bedroom."

"Okay," Sharon sighs, reaching out to take the baby. Ricky squeals and holds his hands out to her.

"Mama!" He exclaims. Andy lets out a sigh of relief as he hands the little boy over. Ricky had been talking up a storm around Andy the last couple weeks but practically became a mute around his mother, only babbling nonsensical things. Sharon had been practicing with him, trying to get him to say something, even settling for trying other words like baba and dada. Sharon's face lights up as she takes Ricky pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Look at that, you do know how to talk," Sharon says as she tickles him. Ricky laughs and snuggles into her hold, looking up at her with wide, innocent, brown eyes.

"Go," Andy nudges, forcing her out of the room before undressing Emily and plunking her into the tub. He helps her wash her hair and gives her Sharon's loofah to clean up, making sure she cleans the smeared throw up from her face, "You know there's a reason your mom and I don't let you have a lot of sugar. It's not good for you."

"But it tastes so yummy," Emily retorts after rinsing off. Andy pulls the plug on the tub and grabs one of Sharon's towels to wrap around her.

"I know, but you can only have little bit at a time," Andy reiterates as he lifts her out of the tub while wrapping the towel around her. Emily grumbles as she holds the towel around herself before Andy uses a hand towel to wring out her long, brown hair, "Go get dressed and go downstairs, I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Okay," Emily says shuffling her way to her room as Andy grabs some cleaning supplies from under the bathroom sink to clean up the bedroom floor. He shakes his head as he kneels down next to where Emily had thrown up.

Only in his life would he get the girl and then have to clean up throw up the next morning.

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[The End-ish? Continued in a new fic, "Die with You", available now at an interwebz near you]


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